Minty Green :)

Hello there friendly friends!! And good morning!/afternoon!/evening!!

I hope you're ready for this post.

I hope you're ready to get your socks blown off.

And I hope it's not too cold wherever you are because then you wouldn't be too pleased with having your socks blown off..

Anywho, that's not the point.

The point is I have just created a breakfast that enables you to enjoy the extremely delicious, creamy, smooth, mouth-watering flavours of mint green ice cream with a crunchy, fudgey, chewy peanut butter granola to top it all off with. For breakfast. No I am not kidding.

Presenting to you the utlimate breakfast in deliciousness: The Creamy, dreamy mint ice cream and granola bowl:

I was never a real big fan of mint as a kid growing up. My mum's favourite ice cream flavour was mint choc chip so I always had a little try of hers when we went out for ice cream but almost always fell back on my own favourite- extremely artificial and fake, awesomely rainbow-swirled bubblegum ice cream! (which did in fact mature into cookies and cream later on).

However anything with mint in it just confused me I think. Like, why did I feel like I'd brushed my teeth after eating icecream? Alas, once again, the growing-up-ness of growing up effected my stance on mint ice cream (as it has with mannnny other things like pasta bakes, avocado, mushrooms, olives etc.) and from my most recent trip to the grocery store and an impulse buy of fresh mint, I knew this was something I had to re-create!

And so I did.
This recipe couldn't be simpler guys and is simply:

Ingredients:
2 medium chopped frozen bananas
1/2 chopped frozen avocado
3-4 fresh mint leaves
1 handful of spinach

Method:
1. Pop everything in a food processor/ high speed blender (handy Vitamix to the rescue!!) and whaz until smooth and creamy dreamy!!
2. Transfer to a bowl and pop in the freezer to harden up slightly whilst making the granola!

The granola was simply:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon oat bran
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 handful low-sugar wholegrain cheerios (or other cereal of choice)
1 large tablespoon peanut butter (or any nut butter)
1/3 cup almond milk

Method:
1.Turn on oven to 180 degrees celsius, line a tray with baking paper
2. Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl
3. Place nut butter and milk in a small bowl and microwave until warmed through
4. Add to dry mix, stir until combined (add more almond milk if too dry)
5. Place on tray and bake for 15-20 mins until golden brown and crunchy on the outside- leave to cool slightly

Et Voila!!

A beautifully sweet, minty ice cream with warm, freshly made granola... can you have a better start to a day??

100% natural, vegan, high plant protein, veggies to boot (that I assure you, you will not taste!) and the delicious taste of mint ice cream to leave you daydreaming about for the rest of the day week :P.

Happy, happy days!

Your turn:
Favourite ice cream flavour as a child?
Favourite ice cream flavour now?
Favourite way to use mint in cooking? What should I try next!!?? I was thinking choc mint oats?? Let me know! :D

I hope you all have a ripper of a day, do something you love and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS (and maybe minty and smooth??)! Bye for now friends! :D

Binge

Hi friends!

I hope we are all have an absolutely lovely day, doing lovely things for ourselves and eating all the lovely foods our body so desires.

And, quite remarkably, that's a great segue into the topic of today's post.

Binge eating.

Now, ok, I know this is an extremely sensitive and confronting topic to a heck of a lot of not only teenage girls but a vast majority of people from all walks of life but I also know that it is also an extremely important topic that should not be tip-toed around. Instead it should be discussed and also accepted with the proper concern and acknowledgement that it requires.

Before I get into this too much further I feel it's my responsibility to add that I personally have never experienced binge-eating episodes or binge-eating disordered thoughts. Whilst I have had disordered thoughts around eating and exercising (restricting some of my favourite foods because I went on a shorter run that day etc.) I have never experienced the desire to eat and eat with little control to fill a void of some kind.

But because of that, I've been wanting to find out more and more about this disorder in order to understand what people I know go through and any people I meet in the future who might confide in me with the knowledge of my healthy eating obsession passion.

I know how infuriating it is to try and connect with someone who simply cannot understand why you do the things you do, I went through it myself. As a young teen I struggled with anxiety and depression and yet the people I tried to confide in simply placed me in the sad, typical teenager category. How can you express the darkness that bubbles, balloons and bursts inside of you at the most inconvenient times to someone who has never experienced it themselves. When you're trapped in a place that seems inescapable, trying to make someone else understand the struggle seems remarkably... futile.

So I've taken that anecdotal experience of my own in the pursuit to understand the battle advancing in a binge sufferers mind.

A common reaction people seem to have in regards to people who binge-eat is simply; 'Well, if you don't want to eat that much, don't eat it.' What a perfect solution for a perfect world.

Pity we don't live in a perfect world.

When someone's solution to mental disorders like depression, anxiety, anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating etc. is simply; 'Stop doing what your doing' cannot be any more outrageous, ludicrous, preposterous and any other word synonymous to ridiculous. It churns the contents of my stomach and leaves a prickly sensation on the back of my neck as I'm brought back to harder times.

A person who binges doesn't want to binge. A person who binges cannot control themselves when they spiral into the state they're in when they binge. A person who binges is not some food loving, craving, gluttonous pig. In fact most binge-eaters don't even taste the foods that they have the uncontrollable desire to ingest and possibly even dislike the foods they're eating. The food no longer becomes food, it becomes a symbol for something bigger, something with a lot more importance and history than a tub of ice cream could ever embody.

Boredom, distress, anger, anxiety... they're all triggers for binge eating and ultimately binge eating is used as a way to cope with challenging disorders. But I also feel like a sentence of that nature is entirely removed from the person at hand, labelling them a specimen in a scientific investigation. Sure, eating copious amounts of foods is undeniably linked to emotions and different triggers but it also goes even deeper than that and is incredibly different for every single person.

A person who eats 2 tubs of ice cream, a whole pizza, boxes of crackers and shapes and lollies and chocolates in one sitting, that person is not simply bored, or simply angry or even simply distressed. Placing your body through that amount of discomfort and pain must originate back from a central, core, underlying matter that is continually pushed deeper and deeper away into the darkness so no one will ever see it.

People see the small ice tip coming out of the ocean and call it boredom. Only the sufferer knows about the huge rest of the ice berg under the surface of the ocean that is simply too big to deal with and is thus numbed by the pain of too much food.

So what is my point exactly?

My point is not to jump to conclusions. not to judge someone based on the tip of the ice berg jutting out of the ocean. My point is not to make snap judgements on people who suffer from disorders that have so many inaccurate connotations built up from years of misinformed ideas and representations. I want people to know that if binge-eating is similar to depression (which I firmly believe it is) there is no way one can simply stop eating. I want these disorders to become more known, accepted and accurately represented, so we can work to fix the health of so many people in our world today.

That's my point.

And I'm definitely sure I've rambled on for long enough so with that, let me know your thoughts:

Have you ever suffered from binge-eating?
Are there points I have missed?
What other disorders do you believe require greater acknowledgement and accurate representations?

I know it's a bit of a heavier one today but be sure in the knowledge of an awesome recipe coming up on the blog soon!! you're certainly in for a treat! Have a fabulous day my friends, be kind to your bodies and nourish them with the foods it thrives on. Happy thoughts and strength sent your way from me- bye for now friends! :D

Raw Avocado Fudge Brownies (For Breakfast!)

Ok guy, let's just take a moment.
 .
..
...
Ok. That was a good moment.

Sometimes me just need a few seconds to catch our breath, lower our heart rate and bring our focus and attention back into the real world so we can accomplish more and be more efficient in what we do. You feeling me? No? Ok, well I needed that minute then. Because my heart was a racing. My mind was elsewhere in the clouds. My attentionw as subdivided between this post and something else.

Something chocolate-y.

Something fudge-y.

Something out-of-this-world delicious.

Oh, and it was also this morning's breakfast :P!

Prepare yourself people because below holds the ingredients and method of how to create the ultimate Raw Vegan Choc Avocado Protein Fudge Brownie Bites

And if that's too much of a mouthful than just know that these are CHOC FUDGE BROWNIE BITES and they are incredible!

I always seem to be hearing/ watching/ seeing pics of all things choc avocado- mousse, brownies, cakes, smoothies etc. (heck I even make a mean, green choc avo smoothie on the regular!) and yet I've never gotten around to trialing some of my own brownies/ cakes using avo- was I too scared? Cynical, perhaps? Whatever the case I was missing out!! But for no more!! Now I've tasted avocado choc brownies and I'm never going back!

Super simple to make, all you need is a blender and a few mins in the morning and BOOM- an awesome breakfast that should be considered a decadent dessert before your awaiting belly!

Gooey, fudgey, chocolatey... and this recipe makes quite a few so you can enjoy MANY choc fudge brownies instead of the typical single serving of regular brownies- WIN!

Ok enough talking and picture tempting... onto the recipe!!

Raw Vegan Choc Avocado Protein Fudge Brownie Bites
Ingredients:
1/2 an avocado
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 scoop choc protein powder
1 teaspoon raw cacao powder
2 dates
1 tablespoon nut butter of choice (I used a mixed nut butter)
1 tablespoon water

Method:
1. Place all the ingredients into a food processor/ high-speed blender (helloooo vitamix!!) and blend until combined and smooth!
2. Spoon out tablespoon sized balls and form into brownie bite squares
3. Pop on a plate lined with baking paper and place in the freezer for around 30 mins to cool and harden slightly-There should be at least one spoon leftover in the blender to 'taste-test' after you've made your brownie bites :P.
4. Meanwhile you could make a fro-yo on the side- mine was 1 chopped, frozen banana whazzed up with some greek yoghurt- but any frozen fruit will work too! Pop in freezer to set to.)
5. Longest 30 mins of your life over and EAATT!!

And let the happiness begin!

This was exactly what I needed after a pretty intense,sweaty, HIIT sesh and I don't know if it was the tough workout, or the fact that I've been working quite few hours at my job over these holidays, or the fact that I'm in year 12 and life is going so fast, or - most likely- the fact that I hadn't eaten for around 12 hours since dinner- I nearly cried at how good these tasted!

Do yourself a favour and whip up a batch of these incredible bad boys and I promise you, you will not be disappointed..

Something that tastes like it should be a one bite treat that is actually a 6+ bite treat that can be njoyed for breakfast is one of those times when the world really is on your side!

Healthy eating tastes boring? I BEG to differ :)

Now excuse me whilst I return to my land of daydreaming about endless supplies of avocado fudge brownies :) :) My happy place.

nom.

Your turn:
Have you ever made a dessert/ breakfast using avocado to make it smooth and creamy and decadent?
Favourite way to use avocado?
Favourite type of brownie? (baked/ raw vegan I hope- for raw eggs sake, blondies, nut ones etc.)

Alrighty- so that's me done for today- I hope you enjoyed this post and I seriously hope you all give this one a go because your life will literally be changed forever- and your breakfasts will be sooo good! Now, off to do some more study! Love holidays :P. EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS and I will see you next time!! Bye for now! :D

Food Lately!! :D

Hidy ho friendly friends and happy...wait what day is it??

TUESDAY! HAPPY TUESDAY!!

See Steph is on term1 school holidays and as such, what day of the week it is is irrelevant (except when I have to remember to go into work!)

Wasn't it great when holidays used to mean time off, relaxing and having fun?? Well I guess being in year 12 is a little different and my teachers decided it was a great idea to leave me with 5 assignments for the 2 weeks off... on top of all my other study to catch up and practically re-learn all my other material (so I can actually understand it- hello study notes!)

Anywho, I have been dedicating some much needed time aside to simply chilling out and doing things I want to do- hello YouTube and Instagram- all the foodies and fitties!!

I also went for my first run today (not yesterday like I said I would because I felt my legs still weren't up for it just yet) and whilst they felt extremely stiff and a little funny, I did complete a very short run, stretched and foam rolled and am feeling pretty ok. Hopefully I keep recovery and ease back into it so before long I can be running all over town again!!

Alrighty, now that we're all caught up on my life :P, hows about we move on to chatting about something FAR more exciting? Food anyone??

This is just a simple compilation of some of the deliciousness I have been enjoying lately:

Breakfasts:

Breakfast has been awarded the MVP of recent meals as there have been some absolute crackers (expect an upcoming post on two very delicious breakfast ideas!!)

 And of course there has been an abundance of my favourite types of breakfasts- like oats!

 This was simply a big bowl of banana cinnamon oats with greek yoghurt topped off with some crunchy peanut butter (actually there was a huge amount of PB in here, scattered throughout as I like to do!) and banana slices:

 Next up we have another favourite- a green smoothie and coconut truffles:

 Into the smoothie went 1 chopped, frozen banana, chopped, frozen avocado, chopped frozen zucchini, kale, spinach, greek yoghurt, vanilla protein powder and water- whazzed up until smooth, creamy, thick and delicious!

 Coconut truffles recipe can be found here (definitely recommend!!)

 And now we come to my all-time favourite Sunday brekky: Because what's Sunday without pancakes??

 A big bowl of frozen banana and frozen strawberry nice-cream with some spelt/ rye pancakes (spelt/ rye flour, rolled oats, almond milk, oat bran, cinnamon- stirry sitr, leave to sit, spray pan, cook :)

 All topped off with either crunchy PB or mixed nut butter- soo good!

 *By the way, each week I know buy a big bunch of very ripe bananas to freeze for smoothies so I never run out!

 Last breakfast of this showcase and it is a goodie:

 Lemon, vanilla cheesecake oats topped with coconut butter!! Simply place rolled oats, sliced banana, vegan vanilla protein powder, lemon rind and almond milk in a saucepan- bring to boil and bubble until absorbed, leave to cool slightly, stir in some greek yoghurt, top with coconut butter- YUM!

 Happy days :)

 Lunches:
Lately lunches are all about heaps of fresh veg and in a sort of snack plate form:

 Raw veg sticks, hommus, mashed avocado and a big bowl of air popped popcorn- so delicious :)

This one was awesome:

 Some mixed beans and peas mixed with hommus, fresh tomato, crunchy lettuce leaves to act as wraps and a side of oven roasted potatoes and white sweet potato (my favourite!!)

 Really, truly satisfies. It also doesn't leave me feeling overfull and bloated/ unhappy :D

 This is a beautiful picture:

 Dinner:
As for dinners- they are and probably always will be extremely simple, quick and easy to throw together.
Exhibit A:

 That's simply a baked bean and hommus jaffle, left over baked beans that didn't fit and raw sliced veg.

Then we had pasta:

 I had done a pretty intense workout that day and knew I needed to refuel... so I cooked up a bunch of high fiber spaghetti, steamed some pumpkin and peas, cooked up some garlic tofu, et voila! Easy, simple, DELICIOUS!!

 Sometimes that's all my body requires!

Dessert??
Well I have no pictures, but you can bet almost every night after dinner I'll almost always have something- be it a tall glass of cold soy milk, a warmed mug of cinnamon almond milk, a piece of dark choc or some nuts to cap off the day :).

Aaand that's been food recently!

What about you?
What has been your favourite breakfast of recent?
What is your simplest meal of the day? I bet lots of other people would say breakfast- you know pour cereal, add milk- but breakfast is my most creative time in the kitchen!!
Prefer simple dinners or prefer complex flavours etc.?

That's it from me today folks. I hope you all have a lovely day, do lots of lovely things and as always; eat something delicious!! Bye for now friend!:D

Finally Getting This Recovery Thing!

Hidy-ho friendly friends and happy Saturday!! Yay!

Today I have a topic that I feel needs to be discussed.
It's not really one specific topic I guess now that I think about it but it's vaguely circling around over training, trusting your body, resting when rest is required and honouring your body as best you can because it does so much for you.

Now, I've been down that road, both in fitness and nutrition whereby I shut off everything my body tells me and just go with what I believe my body deserves.

If I was ravenous but it was only 2 o'clock, I would make myself wait until my 4 o'clock designated snack time before I would allow myself to eat. If I craved a sandwich or a bowl of rice for dinner but had already had some grain/ carbohydrate for breakfast than I would stick to veggies. Already eaten both nut butter and avocado in one day? No olive oil/ other healthy for me at lunch or dinner.

Fitness wise- working out everyday. Felt like I needed to stay in bed? Nope, up and at em' and high intensity cardio! Need another rest day? Nope- only one a week is what I should need. Legs tired and heavy, nope 10+km to go before I'm done. Legs hurting, running becoming slower, motivation waning? Keep. Going.

So, mucked up eating habits + unhealthy over training= problems.  Generally in the form of injury, fatigue and unhappiness.

But have no fear, that was quite a while ago now and I actually appreciated that time in my life for teaching me how to better look after my body in times of it crying out in crisis.

So recently I had been incorporating some more sprints/ hill runs into my run sessions, alternating with a long run each week- which seemed to be going quite well. I could feel my fitness growing and the power in my legs increasing. Then I decided it was time to increase my weekly mileage and come one weekend I did a long run both Saturday and Sunday.

Ok, on reflection, it was a bit too much at once and I should have taken Sunday to rest and recover my legs from the run the day before and the familiar pain in my left knee as a result of an extremely tight ITB (a very common running injury). Signal to Steph. Stop.

So I haven't run again in about a week and have stretched and foam rolled every night since Sunday. That first night of foam rolling... was utter torture. I don't know if you've ever foam rolled on a leg with the most gigantic knots, but just sitting there, rocking back and forth on a built up ball of muscle in your thigh is quite literally excruciating. My poor mother, who was trying to relax and watch some TV, had to sit through my cries and groans of pain and my falling off of the roller every time the level of pain from hanging out on a particular knot became too much!

Didn't know which pic to choose because they're all so accurate!

 

Every morning for this past week I alternated between core, arm and glute/hip/thigh workouts to strengthen up my body so I can be strong enough to prevent this injury from recurring (weak hips is a common cause and I will admit I had neglected to strengthen my hips and glutes for quite some time- you'd think I would have learned from last time!!). Today I went for a hilly bike ride which did push my sore legs but a good foam roll after and the pain doesn't feel too dangerous now- it feels more just like recuperating muscle pain, instead of injury pain.

Come on legs- I believe in you!! Pre-bike ride

Tomorrow shall be my first try at a run (very short distance, maybe 2km) and a good stretch and foam roll to follow.

And now looking back at all of this I know I am honouring my body. My past, unhealthy self wouldn't have coped with taking time off and would have pushed her body to breaking point (like last time- do not want 10 weeks off again!!) and this girl? This girl just stopped. She knew her body needed a break and an active, recovering break is what she shall get!

People, we need to respect the machines that carry us through our day to day lives. Our bodies know what's truly best for us, not what some disordered thinking article on weightloss tells us. I know from experience how to pick up on unhealthy behaviours and so I guess this post is a message to anyone who might be going through the same thing. Stop and rest. You're allowed to. And in the long run, you're body will be so much stronger and better off because of it. Trust me.

Your turn:
What's your worst exe4rcise related injury/ over training story?
Ever turn to bike riding for some active recovery? So peaceful first thing in the morning?
Best advice for treating runners knee/ IT band injury?

I hope you all have a fabulous day, look after and love your bodies because they are all amazing and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELCIIOUS!! Bye for now friendly friends!! :D