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

A Day In The Life!!

Hidy-ho friendly friends and welcome back to the blog that talks all things food, fitness and health related.

But you all know it's mainly food.

Because hey, food is amazing, no?

Yes!

Ok, moving on! Today I thought I'd do a 'Day In The Life' post whereby I documented my way through everything I did on the Sunday just gone so you can know exactly what a wacky, 17 year old, year 12 student, food loving, exercise loving, vegetarian, teenage girl does for a whole entire day (that does not involve working/ going out- a typical day at home!)

So, without further a-do, here is what I do:

6am-6:30am wake up blissfully without the help of my alarm making sure I'm up at 5:50am (the alarm I generally set for the school week) which is utterly blissful as I get a little lie in- I'm an early riser anyway but still, anything after 6 is awesome!

Up and out of bed!

This is my wake up face. Steph is awake. ;P

During this time I headed downstairs, fill my big cup with water, grab my iPad and head back up to my room (all this in basically pitch black, I'm quite stealthy as a result of this daily practice!)

Back up to my room, back into bed, sipping water, flicking through some Buzzfeed articles, waking up a little more before I head out for an easy long run.

But I don't wanna change out of my comfy PJ'S! #Storyofmylife

6:30am-7:40am ish- Go out for a long run all around town, letting my legs go where they will and enjoying the freedom of a lengthy run that is simply not possible during the school week.

New Under Armour gear I got with a birthday gift card for Rebel Sport

 7:40am- back home, stretch a little, chug some water, wipe my face with a wet cloth, and then I headed into the kitchen to whip up some breakfast

 Returned from run sweating but still smiling!

 Beauuuuutiful morning- how could I not go out for a run??

 Those are my legs- albeit quite tired and a little achy, not gonna lie!

 When I return home I kick my shoes off before heading in doors to do a little cool down stroll of my court/ street and do some stretches- I just need my feet to be freeee!

8:00am- Sit down to this glorious breakfast!

 All the 'stuff' in a blender- Frozen banana, frozen blueberries, frozen zucchini, soaked oats and chia seeds, kale, spinach, greek yoghurt, and water, whazzed:

 This made a heck of a lot of smoothie so I had to drink quite a bit and then fill my jar- I'm not complaining though!!

 Still quite overfilled!

 Cat snuck in the frame!

Nom. Or should I say; slurp?

8:30am- After showering, dressing and preparing myself for the day I head into my mum's study which is now my year 12 study area for a good solid few hours of school stuff. This is the most fun part of my day obviously!

 Do you like the mess?? :P Still loving my standing desk!!

Hello human bio

11:00am Shops open at 11 on a Sunday, so I head up to do my weekly grocery shop (worked on Sat which is my usual food haul day!) buying ALL the veggies!

12:00pm- Back home, slight hunger calling to me to prepare some FOOOOD!

1:00pm- FOOOD made:

 Brown rice, raw tomatoes, spinach, peas, corn and veggie patty... delish!

2:00pm- This is where I get stuck most weekends because I've done my study/ homework and now I have free time?!? What!?! What did I do with my life before I had school work? The questions of life I tell you. So instead I just take some time off. Pop my feet up and read a book. Feels pretty good!

 Currently reading a dystopian novel called 'Twinmaker'

4:00pm Make myself a snack:

Again, quite ravenous for a snack!! Mixed raw almonds and cashews with a mug of ice cold soy milk  :)

Then get stuck into making my lunch for tomorrow's school day

 A big veggie, oven baked omelette/ frittata!

 Grated carrot, chopped capsicum, broccoli with some hommus, beaten eggs and water- baked at 180 degrees celsius for 30-40 mins until crispy golden on top and cooked through

5:00pm Relax time- have a bath, scroll through Insta, watch a bit of Freelee the Banana Girl on YouTube (I just get so engrossed in her videos- she's very charismatic!!) Jump back into my comfy PJ'S! Yaaass

6:00pm- Start making din dins (quite a bit on the ravenous side) During this time I also scroll through some blog posts I've missed from my fav bloggers on the iPad near the kitchen.

Also, just to throw in there- these are my steps for today calculated on my phone- I don't take my phone everywhere with me so majority of these would have come from the run- BOOYA smashed that target!!

6:45pm- EAT DINNAAHH!

 Super easy, super simple- roasted butternut squash and kent pumpkin with some roasted potatoes all roasted in extra virgin olive oil and fresh rosemary for around an hour:

 A side of refreshing cucumber and hommus for dipping to go with (I was just feeling like some extra hydrating, water rich veg- you know when you just feel a little blah/ oily etc?)

7:00pm- brush teeth, brush hair, set school clothes out for tomorrow, set a little later alarm because tomorrow (Monday) is a glorious rest day after the long run from today) and then turn on the TV for some MKR (My Kitchen Rules) action and Instagram scrolling to settle me in for the night!

Comfy relaxing spot (Love and always have loved sitting/ lying on the floor.. for anything! :D)

9:00pm- in bed, tucked up, ready for sleep!

And that's a typical weekend day for me!

What about you?
Are you a natural early riser or can you sleep straight through the morning if you could?
Do you pre-prepare your lunches for school/ work the next day? What are some of your favourite packed lunches to make?
What did you have for breakfast today?

I hope you all have a lovely rest of your day (whatever/ however it is you live your life!), do something you love and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friendly friends! :D

Why I Love To Exercise.. In The Morning!

Not gonna lie- I think I could probably write two separate posts on both Why I Love To Exercise and Why I Love To Exercise In The Morning... because I have so many reasons for each and once Steph gets rambling...

Hidy ho folks, I hope you're all having a fantastic week so far and are roaring through all your daily activities and jobs with a nice balance of fun stuff and treats for yourself to go with!

Today I wanted to specifically talk about my love of exercising in the morning. Being a morning exerciser. Rising before the rise of the sun to sweat it out!

It's funny (well funny to me. Probably not to most people) but when I typed in 'morning exerciser' to google (trusty ol' Google- always there for me!) almost every result that popped up was a page for 'Tips For Becoming A Morning Exerciser' and 'How to Become A morning Exerciser.' Seriously, almost every pop up. And yet, I would argue that I struggle just as much with motivating myself to sweat it out after a long hard day at school/ work/ lounging about on the weekend ;).

I just couldn't comprehend why so many people found it so difficult to motivate themselves to pop up out of bed and get their heart pumping and those great, great, great endorphins flowing. But then I figured I should simply reverse my reasons for not being an afternoon/ night worker-outerer to those who hate morning exercise. After a long day I feel tired and sluggish. After a sleep a lot of people feel tired and sluggish. After a big day I am fuzzy and out of it. After waking up in the morning many people are fuzzy and out of it (especially prior to coffee time.. and I'm not a coffee drinker..) In the afternoon I just want to lounge about and gradually relax. Lot's of people in the morning just want to lounge about and slowly and steadily prepare themselves for the day.

So I guess I can relate in a sense to lacking motivation in the morning to workout. But I am truly, truly grateful that I am a morning exerciser and I've made a list as to the reasons why I love it so much just for your reading pleasure!!

1. I get my exercise done!
I don't know about you or what your experience was in year 12, but after a day of school, filled with the prospect of diving into a mountainous pile of homework and study... I could very easily make excuses not to exercise and lower it's priority in my day if I left it to the afternoon.

It sounds a bit ridiculous but it's true. Exercising in the morning means I actually get my workout in! This is so important and means I will reap the rewards of exercise- endorphins, positivity, motivation in my day to day life, strong, healthy heart etc. etc.

2. It gives me a sense of accomplishment early on in the day which keeps me motivated to get more stuff done because I've got the feeling that I'm being productive and achieving things.

I guess this is quite the psychological reason but hey, if it works! If I've run around 6-10km before I've even eaten my first meal of the day I feel great and motivated to power through the rest of my day.

3. I also feel great literally, as for those endorphins I mentioned earlier. I feel more awake, focused and energised (well, as much as one can be learning about Australia's terms of trade and calculus) which can only be a positive for my schooling in my eyes!!

4. Have you ever heard that saying; 'Exercise in the morning, before you're brain figures out what you're doing.' Obviously this is just a bit of a laugh, but there is some truth to that in the sense that it does feel a little less strenuous/ tiring to me because I am still slightly in my sleep phase (especially for a very early 5am run!) and I find that if I'm a lot more awake at 5pm then I feel every muscle crying out with pain and fatigue whilst I try for my second squat of the day.

5. The sense of extreme peace and freedom felt when exercising before anyone in the whole entire world even seems to be stirring (yep, let's go with it :P) is quite the majestic experience. Running in the darkness of dawn is unreal and I think everyone needs to experience it at least once in their life!

6. It keeps my appetite and metabolism roaring all day and I feel hunger and satiety which means my body is functioning healthily and energy is being burned to fuel my beautiful machine of a body. Hunger doesn't scare me because I know it's my body yelling for food to refuel after an awesome workout.

7. Finally, does breakfast ever taste as good as it does after a heavy workout sesh? No way. I can't tell you how good peanut butter on toast with a delicious, creamy, cold green smoothie tastes after running over 10km because I would simply start salivating and day dream off into breakfast heaven. That first meal of the day refueling your body from the fast of sleep and the energy burned woking out is the best meal of the day in my opinion!

So there you go- the MANY (and there's more, don't you worry!) reasons I love to exercise in the morning!

Your turn:
Are you a morning/ night exerciser?
Think you can change my mind as to why afternoon/ night workouts are better?
Favourite breakfast to eat after an AWESOME workout?

I hope you all have a lovely rest of your day, whether your sweating it out later on or simply pulling on some bed socks and watching a good ol' TV show curled up on the sofa like me- enjoy it!! Oh and EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friends ;D .