Have you ever gotten sick, or had broken your arm, or gotten sun burnt and thought to yourself 'I wish this would just go away now!'
Of course we do! We're human, we seek comfort and will do whatever it takes to get that. If that means drastic measures- then fine! As long as I'm back to being comfortable and happy again.
I know it's harsh but it's also true.
Unfortunately I'm here bearing bad news. In regards to health, there are no real true fixes. You can always get surgery to make your tummy smaller, or eat a magic pill to help your indigestion, or high blood pressure- but these aren't cures, they're disguises, hiding the true problem at hand.
We've all seen those magazines boasting a miracle diet that will make you drop 5kg a week by following this one diet, with a picture of a beautiful woman, or man on the cover.
No wonder we all get suckered into these articles, with big claims such as, 'Your dream body in just two weeks!' or 'Bikini body now!' These headings are all about now now now- something we all want. Patience is an endangered species in this day and age.
I think that's what puts people off the only diet and lifestyle that guarantees results- eating healthy and exercising often. People don't want to do this because it's a lifetime 'diet' and it's so much easier to quickly change yourself and be good from then on.
I hate to tell you this, but the tried and true saying, rings true again for this one.
It bewilders me when I see people try a crazy fad diet, to see quick results and be happy and then a week or so later, they're back to where they started. Until the next diet pops up.
When will the message get across that fad diets don't work? For lasting results, you need lasting patience and lasting love for your body. To get the body you want, treat your body with the love it deserves- that's the best diet there is.
Thoughts? Ideas? Past experiences? Would love to hear from you! Have you ever tried a fad diet? Did it work?
Now I'm just thinking out loud here... make sure you head over to spoons to read what others are thinking about!
Hey, hey it's Wednesday! No way! Make sure you stay.
Let's move onto the food... What do you say? ;)
This Wednesday I was back at school. Now I'm not saying this is either a bad thing or a good thing... cough... but it does mean that meal planning becomes essential (waking up in the morning and having to create breakfast snack and lunch can seem a bit over whelming otherwise) and salads and other meals that can last a few hours are a must!
So, because I'm not yet ready to say goodbye to the holidays for good yet, this WIAW will feature an entire day of eats from my very last day of holidays... it was a bit of a celebration.
Breakfast:
Breakfast started with some delicious banana berry protein ice cream topped with peanut butter granola!
The ice cream is super simple to make. Just whack a chopped frozen banana + a handful of frozen berries + as scoop of vanilla protein powder into a food processor and process until combined (scraping down the sides every so often)
Voila:
The granola was some oats, some chopped raw nuts and a small handful of wholegrain cheerios mixed up with some chia seeds. Then I put a tablespoon of peanut butter in a small bowl with 1/3 cup rice milk, microwaved for 30 seconds, gave it a small stir and then rubbed into the muesli.
Placed on a baking tray and baked at 180 degrees celsius for 15 mins:
Oh yeah!
Then of course it was all mushed up:
This mug of awesome-ness kept me full right up until lunch, where I nibbled gobbled on some cold home made pizza I'd made that morning (I was in a cooking mood, so I baked some bread and then decided to make pizza for lunch because I prefer my pizza cold any way)
Lunch:
The base for my pizza was pretty much this one (my absolute favourite)
Next was a bit of spinach and some blobs of pesto (love pesto!)
Followed by some more vegan cheese, some steamed beetroot + sweet potato +parsnip, sliced mushrooms, sliced tomato and some more blobs of pesto and vegan cheese:
Baked in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees celsius for about 20-30 mins, until the base turned golden and hard:
Left to cool, then sliced up and popped in the fridge :)
Snack:
A mandarin, grapes and soy milk:
This snack never gets old and always gives me a great energy boost in my tired afternoon state. I can't tell you how much I love fruit! And soy milk (I really do enjoy the taste of soy milk!)
Dinner:
Dinner was a bit of a mix and match of different things I was feeling. I was definitely in the mood for charred veggies (note the brussels sprouts, broccoli and corn, as well as baked beans and eggs (I think I was also in a breakfast-y mood :)
Does anyone else like slightly burned veggies? I just think the flavour is so good!
Well, that's what I ate! Be sure to head on over to peas and Crayons for some more meal- inspo from other bloggers, or just to scroll mindlessly through pictures and pictures of food :)
Hello, hello! I don't know why I decided to say hello twice, but that's what I said in my head and so that's what I typed!
Today I'd like to spend a little bit of time touching on a subject that has been done to death- exercise!
Hey- no eye rolling!
Looking at you Harry Potter!
I'm not here to preach a certain belief I have or carry on about how 2 hours of exercise a day is good, or 3, or 20 minutes or whatever the current craze is.
I'm here to have a chat, share my thoughts and bring up injuries and coping strategies
Now I know that exercise isn't everyone's cup of tea. It may not even be your cup of coffee! This may in fact be the very definition of you:
And hey, that's cool- that's you! But before you go and scoff down that pizza, why not read on to find out a bit more about this crazy thing called exercise.
Now, I mentioned this guy in a previous post of mine, where I'd just found him on youtube and thought his videos were awesome. He has ideas, values and attitudes that he's not afraid to flat out say and this video is no different:
Ok, so let's get the boring facts that we've all heard a bajillion times (but are still really important) out of the way first.
We all know that regular exercise..
Controls weight
Combats health conditions and diseases
Improves mood
Boosts energy
Promotes better sleep
Now all those were reasons enough for me to first get into exercise. As a kid I'd always just done exercise without realising it. I played net ball, did karate and gymnastics and dancing (yes, all at the same time) as well as school sport and doing crazy flips and tricks at recess and lunch (that's if I wasn't playing chasey) Then all of a sudden I got this thing called Osgood-schlatters disease and had to stop all activity.
It was the worst thing ever for my 11-year-old self as my acrobatic comps were coming up very soon. I cried for ages and then just let it go, I guess.
Sorry, I couldn't resist :)
The problem with this forced break, was that it was a long recovery and I got used to doing nothing. I didn't play a sport and I felt myself feeling lower and lower. It was around this time that I started high school (I was 12 years old going into year 7) and my sister was also moving out of home. I had no way to cope.
I'd never felt like this before- I was that happy, sunshine girl that was always smiling and now I was feeling a weird sensation of sadness that wouldn't budge.
This lasted for longer than I should have let it, but then one day, I decided to go for a run. I had no proper exercise clothes, I had cheap supermarket trainers and no sense of where I was going. I just ran. I didn't run for long and I felt a bit sick and dizzy, but a few hours later I felt great. I ran again the next day and felt the same great feeling. Fast forward a year and a half and here I am- a happy, healthy young adult (now with some exercise gear and proper trainers) enjoying life and anythig it throws at me.
Now this was just my experience with exercise, but I seriously think it is amazing how it can change you're entire out look on life. The points listed above mention the physical benefits of exercise, but they don't even touch on the mental and internal effects. This article perfectly discusses these benefits and if the physical side doesn't persuade you, then I'm fairly sure this might.
Before you sigh loudly and pull out your running shoes, don't force yourself to do something you hate. I love running. It is the form of exercise I enjoy. Not everyone is like me- find something you love and do it often!
Lacking motivation? Always remember this:
What are your thoughts on this topic?
Do you enjoy exercise? What's your favourite form of exercise? Ever had an injury that took you out of everything?
It's an important topic that has such an effect on our body that I think we should all know a little bit more about the benefits even a simple walk can provide.
Chia seeds. Salvia hispanica, commonly known as chia, is a species of
flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to central and
southern Mexico and Guatemala.
Ok, so that's the definition of chia seeds and we've all probably heard that they are listed as a super food (I don't really believe in super foods, but that's a topic for another day) but do we actually know why they are so good? I know I didn't, so I did a bit of research and was very, very surprised at my findings!
Now I use chia seeds almost every day- smoothies, oats, overnight oats, as an egg replacer, or simply sprinkled raw on something.
Knowing only that they were good for me. Of course the annoying little kid in me came out and started screaming 'Why?' over and over again and no matter how many times my annoyed parent side of me replied with 'They just are' I knew I was going to have to find out.
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the facts plain and simple in front of me. How can one little seed be so amazing?
Loaded with antioxidants
Almost all the carbs in the seeds are fiber
High quality protein
High in omega-3 fatty acids
High in many important bone nutrients
Can improve exercise performance
Super easy to incorporate into your diet!
After being presented with all of this information, I was almost swayed to categorize this amazing little seed as a super food. Almost ;)
Are you impressed? Well if you are, I also came across some awesome recipes using them too :)
I hope you've learnt a little something about chia seeds (I sure did!) and maybe will pick up a bag on your next shop (I do tend to wait until they're on special)
That's it from me- what's your favourite 'super food'?
Happy Sunday everyone!
Now, it's sort of a known thing around the blog-o-sphere to have pancakes on Sunday, but sometimes I'm just not feeling them.
Sometimes I'm feeling cookies:
Soft and chewy cookies with a hint of peanut butter flavour and the lovely tartness of rhubarb, sweetened perfectly by dried fruit. Yep, these were good cookies!
Ok well, bye friends!
What? You want something else? Boy, you guys are demanding! Well, I guess I could give you the recipe ;)
Soft Muesli Cookies with Rhubarb Ingredients:
3/4 cup muesli
1/3 stick of rhubarb, diced
1/2 cup milk (I used rice milk)
1 tablespoon peanut butter (or any nut butter of choice)
Sprinkle of chia seeds
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Place the muesli, rhubarb and chia seeds in a small bowl and mix to combine:
3. Place the rice milk and peanut butter in a small bowl and microwave for 1 minute, lightly stir (not to fully combine) then pour onto muesli and rub in with your fingers.
4. It will probably seem quite liquidy, but if you let it sit for a few minutes it will thicken and absorb the liquid. In the meantime you could make a smoothie:
A delicious green smoothie made with 1 chopped frozen banana, a handful of frozen mango, 2 big handfuls of spinach, 3 big spoons of greek yoghurt and 1/2 a cup of water- all whazzed up in a blender until smooth:
Leave in freezer until required.
5. After the 'cookie dough' has sat for a bit, form into balls (whatever size you want- I went with two big cookies) and place on baking tray:
6. Bake for 15 mins, or until cookies are golden and hard on top:
7. Leave to cool on a cooling rack for 5 mins so the cookies harden and stay together.
8. EAT!
I absolutely love the bright colours of this breakfast! The rhubarb went soft and deliciously tangy and the peanut butter gave these cookies a beautiful flavour.
Very filling, very delicious, very good for you- my three ticks of approval!
Feeling like some cookies for brekky now?
Even if you don't have any rhubarb, sub in anything else you'd like- blueberries, apple, banana- anything will work :) Do you ever have cookies for breakfast? Do you celebrate pancake Sunday? Do you like rhubarb?
That's all from me today folks! Always remember to look after your body with yummy, nutritious foods:)
Bye! :D
