My 'perfect' morning routine

Phew! What a hectic week!
Of course I highly anticipated this and also of course, I didn't get into my usual prepping ahead and organising that I usually, meticulously, do when school is back on the cards. But we'll go into more on that in some later posts- for now, I'm just happy it's SATURDAY!

Snoopy happy dance totally happening over here!

Without a doubt, the best way to ensure that my day kicks off on an upbeat, positive and energetic foot, is to include my 'perfect' morning routine! I say 'perfect' because it is perfect! For meee! Someone else might find this to be the cruelest form of torture on the planet. Each to their own!

Firstly? Waking up! Specifically, waking up nice and early (unless I'm ssuupppeeeerrr tired, then sleep is higher on the priority list!) and now that it's Winter, that means waking up when the stars are still shining :)

Next? Water :) I drink lots of water because my body tells me it needs it- and then thanks me with feeling good :)
Then I researched why and discovered there was some actual science behind it:

After some water and a touch of blog reading (waking me up fully) I change into my running gear, stretch up the sleepy limbs, do some active stretches:

(really good for running!) and head out (or in- to the treadmill- as was the case this morning) for a quick run.
You may remember from this post that I've decided to take a break from my long (around 2 hours, 20km.. yep still can't believe I did those) runs and focus more on shorter and quicker runs.

The verdict?
Good decision! Apart from not stressing over getting to bed early enough to get enough sleep to wake up at 4:30am to run 20km (which, now that I look back on it, caused way too much stress for my liking) I've actually noticed some changes physically as well as mentally! I have more energy, I feel better, I don't have the runner's bloat that comes with super long distances, I don't get over-exercising head aches, or fatigue and I just feel... better!

So, today I ran it out nice and fast for 30 mins on the treadmill and felt great!
Something I had no idea about- how different shorter faster runs are compared to extremely long distances. I am out of breath about 10 minutes in to a quick run and quite worn out after only 30 mins- but in a really good way. Whereas I could run for 2 hours at a very slow pace and not collapse afterwards- but didn't feel the happy buzz of exercising.

Don't believe I get worn out after a quick run? I have picture proof:

Yep, sweat, puffing and frizz galore! We don't all look like models when we workout!

My final stage of a perfect morning?

BREAKFAST!!

(And maybe a shower first :)

This morning there were some overly-ripe plums in our fruit bowl, a small spotty banana, an almost-empty-jar of peanut butter and a girl with a slightly large obsession for oats ready for breakfast...

Can you guess what I did? ;)
Into a saucepan went 1/2-3/4 cup steel cut oats + 1 small banana + 1 juicy, chopped plum (I froze the other one for some plum fro-yo) + 1 cup almond milk + 1 cup water- cooked on medium heat for 20 mins, until liquid absorbed and the let to sit for another 5 to cool before adding in a few scoops of greek yoghurt for added protein and cheesecake-ness :)

Poured into an almost empty jar of peanut butter (with a little extra peanut butter in the middle and on top)

Mmmmmmm, this was so good!

May have gone a little over board with the peanut butter... but can you ever really go overboard with peanut butter? (I guess if you grab a spoon and the entire thing...)

Anywho, it was delicious, filled me up and is a great option for recovery fuel after working out

It also looks really pretty too- another fundamental element of my breakfasts (unless it's a chocolate green monster smoothie- no one can make that look pretty!)

That's what a perfect morning looks like for me! (Of course finishing it off with writing up a blog post ;)

What about you?
What does a perfect morning include for you?
Do you prefer running in the morning or at the end of the day? I've switched from after school to early morning- who knows maybe I'll switch back!
Favourite recovery breakfast? Oats, and lots of em'!

Well, I seem to have rambled on for far long than anticipated, so I'll leave you now to your weekend!Relax, have fun, take a breather (that's what I'll be doing!) and eat something delicious! Bye friends! :D

WIAW #53

Hello, hello!
Just popping in quickly, with barely any time at all, to bless you all with a look into a full day of eating! WIAW style!

These eats feature my last day of the school hols before heading into term 2 (ie. yesterday) and yes, I made some of my favourites to lift my spirits! ;)

Thanks as always to Peas and Crayons for hosting this awesome weekly link-up!

Breakfast: 7:45am
Guys- this is my last mango that I froze at the beginning of Summer!

After a short run I made myself a delicious brekky of steel cut banana cinnamon oats and a creamy green smoothie!

Perfect re-fueling fuel!

Into the blender went 1/2 frozen banana + 1/2 frozen mango + 3 big scoops greek yoghurt + handful kale + handful spinach + 1/2 cup water- whazzed!

Topped (and hidden) with crunchy peanut butter ;)

Ahhh...

Lunch: 12:30pm

I was pretty hungry, so I went about making this big ol' salad filled with spinach, red cabbage, peas, corn, carrot, snow peas, cucumber and some spicy eggplant falafel, along with some oven roasted chestnuts- nom!!

Definitely did the trick and filled me up!

It was also one of those meals where I finished and felt truly satisfied- you know the ones where you know that's exactly what your body ordered?

Snack: 4pm
1 crunchy, crisp, juicy pear with some crunchy grapes:

And a mug of soy milk :)

Happy days!

Dinner: 7:00pm
Enter pumpkin, enter lukewarm water mixed with yeast:

Enter PIZZA! (My secret? Add a touch of pumpkin to the yeast mixture and the  natural sugars act like adding a teaspoon of table sugar- the yeast loves it!)

Topped with all the yummy toppings- no-added-salt tomato paste, mushrooms, eggplant, capsicum, onion, olives, semi-dried tomatoes, vegan cheese and pesto!

It's the smell of cooking pizza that gets me every time!

Perfect end-of-holidays dinner :)

Get in the gob!

Aaaaand that's what I ate!

Tell me:
Do you make yourself your favourites on tough day-befores?
Ever made yourself a meal that made your entire body smile?
Favourite pizza toppings?

Ok, off to go back to my busy life! Like I'm trying to do right now- stop and smell the roses, smile and give someone a hug! Bye for now friends! :D

The hard/happy post :)

You guys... it's one of those days where we are gonna get real again.
Because life's not butterflies and rainbows and unicorns and delicious chocolate brownies (yep, still on my mind) all the time. Life has cockroaches and rainy days and disgusting kitchen mishaps! And while those days suck! aren't the best, it's those days that make you appreciate the really special ones!

Where am I going with this? These past 2-3 years have the been the craziest, hectic, sad/angry/ confusing/ amazing/ influential/ important years of my life. I've been going through teenage-hood and I've felt some of the pretty unfortunate things that can come with it.

I've gone through the stress and anxiety of school work, the large weight loss and fatigue that comes with not committing to a proper vegetarian diet, anxiety/depression/insomnia all rolled into one (probably as a result of the first two), so, so, so many doctors appointments and blood tests and nights spent crying. Then recovering. Discovering a love for exercise, fueling my body with the right types as well as enough food, gaining back the weight my body needed, freeing myself from the dark clutches of depression, experiencing life once again. Then another slope down into abusing my love of exercise and healthy eating by over doing it and become obsessed, where once again I could feel myself getting pulled into a raging sea of worry.

Somehow through all this I still managed to work extremely hard at school, keep up extracurriculars (although I did have to stop for some time during my extreme fatigue days) and present a Steph to the world- maybe not the Steph I truly am/ am capable to be, but I soldiered on... and I will not lie to you- it was so hard sometimes.

Everyone around me seemed fine. Was I the only one going through this crazy torment of life? Why were all my friends so easy-going? Why didn't they have any health issues? Why weren't they obsessed with everything they ate and if they had exercised that day and what they would eat if we were going out? Why me?

I know now how wrong I was when I thought I was the only one going through the somewhat colossal battle of being a teenager. Like me, many, many others were masters of disguise. I could blend in a little foundation over the black rings under my eyes and plaster on a smile and come across as normal as the next gal. So, why did I think no one else was doing the same?

Any who- I wanted to write this post as a light at the end of the tunnel (before I enter another tunnel of course ;). I want to write this post and send it back to my young 14-year-old self who was barely walking because it was too tiring. Who's hip bones stuck out, hurting the skin around them. Who saw no light, none at all at the end of that long, bumpy tunnel.

Of course, that's not going to happen and it's the fact that I experienced those not-so-fun months/ years that shaped me into who I am today. That made me stronger than I ever could have been if I had an easy, happy, no-problems teenage experience. So instead I write this post for anyone out there who was where I was a few years back. Who's in that tunnel and just want to get out! Who can't see the light and instead succumb to the darkness.

This is for you- take my word for it- there is always a light! Work hard to get to it- accept help from others, accept the advice from counselors and doctors who at the moment seem to have no understanding of what you're going through, but actually might kinda know what they're talking about. :) It will get better, I don't know how I can stress that enough. And when it does, life will be so freaking amazing! I feel so blessed and free and in awe of my wonderful life, thanking God every night before I go to bed for it. This is life- it's full of crazy good and crazy bad times. But it's full of both and that's what we have to keep reminding ourselves when we get dragged down under despair!

I can't tell you how hard this post was to write for me. I don't like re-living the past, especially not that particular past and so writing out a time in my life that actually happened... I can hardly believe it. I mean you know it must be hard to write about if it's taken me around 6 months to a year to create a post on it!

I guess I finally realised that I hold some power and influence over the readers of this blog and if I can help just one person in their lives, than I cannot tell you how amazing that would be!

So tell me:
Did you have a tough teenage period of your life?
How do you get through tough situations that seem to fully take over your life? Nowadays, I remember that time in my life and think to myself that I got through that, I'm strong and capable and can get through anything.

One thing you feel so blessed for right at this minute? Family, no question.


That's it from me today friendly friends! I hope I've helped someone out today :) Also, sometimes you just need a brownie to get you through. the link is at the top ;) Have a great day! Bye friends! :D

Brownies are a girl's bestfriend!

Brownies.
You either love them... or you love them.
In other words- best mistake the world ever made!
Of course, a traditional brownie consists of butter, sugar, chocolate, eggs, white flour etc. and comes out of the oven fudgy, moist (sorry!) and utterly delicious!

But what if I told you that I made something utterly delicious, moist and fudgy without any of the ingredients mentioned above. Yeh.
Even better? They're healthy enough for a super-nutritious, filling and satisfying breakfast.

Even better still? They taste sooooo good!

It must be your lucky day because I will share with you the recipe that you will need to try right away and then fill your mouth with the warm, fudgy essence of this delicious almost cookie/ almost cake creation!

High protein, sugar free, wheat free, super yummy:
Choc Fudge Brownies!

Ingredients:
3/4 rolled oats
2 tablespoons choc protein powder (or sub in 1 large tablespoon raw cacao powder)
1 teaspoon chia seeds
A small handful raw cacao nibs (feel free to throw in some choc chips instead if you want!)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons maca powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 large tablespoon coconut oil, melted
3/4 cup greek yoghurt (sub in dairy free yoghurt if vegan)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Grease a mini loaf pan with oil (I sprayed with extra virgin coconut oil)
2. Place oats in a small food processor and process until forming a fine flour:

 3. Place oat flour in a bowl and add in the protein powder/ cacao powder, cinnamon, chia seeds, baking powder and cacao nibs

 4. Stir to combine

 5. Add in the melted coconut oil and mix until mixture appears like bread crumbs:

 6. Stir in the yoghurt: The mixture might appear a little dry and not runny at all- but that's just because the cold yoghurt has started to set the coconut oil and will melt again in the oven

 7. Press mixture into pan: Warning do not eat the mixture before baking... it is too good!

 8. Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 mins until golden on top and slightly hard

 9. Turn out onto wire tray to cool for a few mins:

 10. ENJOY!
While my brownie was baking I made a berry ice cream:

 Which was just 1 small frozen banana and a small handful of mixed berries whazzed in a food processor until smooth and creamy- popped in the freezer until ready to eat.

Breakfast is served!

 I'm not going to lie, I was very apprehensive when going about creating this brownie. I love, love love love love, brownies and I have crystal clear memories of what amazing brownies taste like (even though it's been well over a year since I've had one) so I knew in order for me to actually enjoy this particular brownie.. well it had to be pretty darn good!

 But you know I wouldn't be sharing it here on this blog if it wasn't!

 I already knew that adding sour cream/ yoghurts to cakes made them amazingly moist and fudgy and so knew I wanted to experiment with that in this recipe. I also knew the flavour and addition of coconut oil would only add to the richness and fudginess of this brownie.

 What I didn't know? That it would turn out better than I ever would have expected!
This brownie was beautifully dense, chocolatey and so... brownie-like that after my first bite I knew I had created something awesome!

 If it looks like it has a slight greenish tinge- just remember the protein powder I use- trust me, all I could taste was chocolate!
And happiness..

 Also- that berry ice cream was off-the-charts too!

 Ice cream and brownie, perfect!

 Yes, ok, I was surprised. I did not think it was going to taste this good and so I urge you all to try it out- you will not be disappointed!

 And if you're anything like me, you'll eat a few fork fulls and then slap yourself silly, because this is a brownie- you gotta pick it up and take a hearty bite to fully enjoy it!

 That's better!

Now I could ramble on for days about brownies (and I pretty much have already!) so I'm gonna wrap things up here!

What about you?
Are you a brownie fan? I like them because I'm not the biggest fan of cake or cookies, either too sponge-y, or too biscuit-y... so brownies are quite literally my perfect dessert!
Favourite type of brownie? Apparently there are a few!
Pick it up and eat it or use a fork?

So on this happy brownie high, I leave you to your Monday! Have a fabulous day, eat something delicious and take time to appreciate the little things! Bye friends! :D