Saturday :D

Hi there lovely lovelies! And happy Saturday!

This week seemed to go forever for me and so when I woke up Friday morning to the knowledge of the end of the week.. well there was a bit of a smile on my dial!!

Not as big a smile than the one on my face today though! Because unlike Friday, Saturday's mean I have absolutely no commitments/ schooling/ activities planned at all and whilst it may seem kind of dull/ boring, when in year 12 and seemingly busy all. the. time. A day of nothing is one of the best things that could possibly be thrown my way in this season of life.

Season of life- handy that I mentioned that because that is something that also became a lot more evident to me today in particular as well. I've mentioned it before in previous posts whereby I talk about in a similar way to the changing of the seasons, our lifestyles; activity levels, meals, appetite etc. also change and we need to listen and honour these changes even if our minds (generally influenced by what society perceives as 'acceptable') tells us no.

For example, I've just come out of a season of reduced activity/ exercise, with a greater focus on rest/ recovery and looking after my body and this was quite a long period in my life. It followed the over-exercising I put my 14-year-old self through that left me completely burnt out and resultantly lacking any motivation after I recovered from predicted injuries from the amount I was pushing my body.

And for the past few weeks I've moved into a season in my life where my body wants to be pushed. Thrives on working hard, sweating lots and seeing gains I've never had before! I think I'll write a bigger post about this in the near future but this was all to say that we can't keep up an extreme and intense workout schedule every single day. It's not healthy and like the changing of seasons, the body goes through different phases which require different methods of movement.

I'm a firm believer that the body will always benefit from some form of movement every day but I also believe that if that form of movement is a nice, easy, relaxing yoga session as opposed to a high intensity hour long cross-fit training bootcamp, that could be just as beneficial to the body because that could be exactly what the body needs then and there.

So how did my Saturday turn out with all this in mind?

Well, it involved a lovely lie-in (refer back to first point- no school/ plans/ ANYTHING!!) to around 6:30am (this is definitely a lie-in when you consider the usual alarm sings at 5:45am most school mornings!) where I literally did smile with joy at the weekend.

Following this, my body did want to just get up and move. This was a clear difference to the times when my body felt tired and exhausted and I knew a longer lie-in would be beneficial (during recovery for over-training. I also just want to re-iterate that this recovery does take quite a while and you shouldn't feel upset or angry at a lack of motivation/ body's ability to move- your body needs this time to recuperate from the intense training you put it through).

So up and out of bed, hopping down the stars, grabbing my iPad and a cup of water, hopping back up the steps (it's also really cold in the winter mornings in Aus now- I do not cope well with the cold!) and jumping back into bed for a bit of blog reading and water sipping (this is a daily ritual I always do as getting some good hydration into the bod first thing in the morning makes a considerable difference in the way I feel for the rest of the day!). Recently I've loved reading Tina Muirs blog, especially her personal running/ eating posts- super interesting!

After around 15 mins of this I was ready to go! The night before I had already planned a long, easy run as my entire body just felt super stiff and rigid after an intense sprint training on Thursday (yep, even after rest day Friday!) and a looong easy run I knew would be just what the body needs to unwind, unravel and stretch out (my gluten were so tight!).

Running clothes on, shoes laced up, leg-swings done and straight into a jog up the hill out of my court.

I ended up running for a good 90 minutes or so, clocking in around 13.5km with a slow, easy pace and I felt from the very beginning my body beginning to loosen up and get comfortable in the easy stride that I maintained throughout the entire run.

For the first time in months I got that runner's euphoric exhaustion, the heavy legs that just pushed me to keep going and the fatigue that I crave (it's the type of fatigue that rids your mind of any stressors in life/ ability to think of anything really- good fatigue!) It was just me, my legs and the pounding of pavement (well, in my case grass, because I am utterly prone to injury if I only run on pavement!).

And it was a great, great run.

Post-run sweaty selfie :P

Flick back a month or so and my body would have been burnt out by kilometre 5, whether that was my mental state, my physical endurance, or something else, that was absolutely fine and now, I'm going with the increased endurance and determination/ motivation.

And after a long run, fuelled only by the previous night's dinner, breakfast becomes a major priority as soon as I enter through my front door! What a great breakfast it was:

Chic cheesecake protein oats, using a scoop of the delicious Sunwarrior vegan chic protein powder. Quick to whip up, filled with so much goodness- carbs, fats, proteins- perfection!

Did I mention it also tastes like eating a wickedly rich dessert? For breakfast? Yeah, life is good! :)

After sitting down with my warm, gooey mug of oats with crunchy peanut butter melted throughout, in front of the warmth of the heater, I will admit it was quite the challenge to move again. I would happily pause that shot and be happily warm, exhausted (in a good way!), filled with endorphins, with a delicious breakfast in between my hands.

A perfect Saturday.

So to sum up? Life changes, our bodies change, and we have to accept that or result in fighting our body likely leading to injury/ burning out.

And also main take-away from this post? Dessert for breakfast is always a good idea :D

Your turn:
What phase of your fitness do you think you're currently in at the moment?
What's your favourite type of workout at the minute? I'm finally falling back in love with my beloved running!!
Breakfast this morning was?

I hope you all have a fabulous rest of your Saturday/ weekend, do something you absolutely love to do, honouring your body and what it wants/ needs in this period of life and of course; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS! Bye for now friendly friends! :D

Creamy Green Pasta Bowl And Other Green Recipes!

I don't know about you but I feel 1000x better when I sit down to a meal that is predominantly the colour green.

It could be a bit of a illusory feeling because my mind is simply seeing green and thinking 'ok we must feel good now!', but I would believe that a big part of my feeling healthy, energised and full of nutrients is because these green foods provide energy bursting, nutrient-filled benefits!

Avocado, broccoli, spinach, brussels sprouts, kale, lettuce, pears, silver beat, peas, beans, green apples, kiwi-fruit, cucumber, zucchini... the list goes on and on and the benefits simply grow and grow!!

 I definitely notice a considerable difference in my energy levels, digestion and general feeling of wellbeing when I haven't included many green veggies/ fruits/ foods in my diet and hence am always drawn back to these greenies whether it be a massive green smoothie or a bowl full of basil pesto pasta.. the body knows what it needs!!

This is why I try and incorporate green-ness into almost all of my meals! And here today for you is both a dinner creation and breakfast creation that left me feeling noticeably happier, energetic, not bloated/ worn down and just... good. Full stop.

Now without further a do- how about a recipe for a super creamy, delicious pasta bowl?
YES PLEASE!!

Creamy Green Avocado Pasta Bowl:

 Ingredients:
1 serving penne pasta (I used high fiber penne)
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup corn
125g tin mixed four beans, drained and rinsed
1 handful spinach
1/2 large avocado
1 heaped tablespoon nutritional yeast

Method:
1. Cook pasta according to packet instructions- add peas and corn for the last 2 minutes and in the last 30 seconds add the spinach to wilt down to literally nothing!
2. Drained pasta, peas and corn and spinach and place in large-ish bowl (to stir around) and add the rinsed four beans
3. Mash avocado (either large half or a whole small avocado) with the nutritional yeast until smooth and combined
4. Add the creamy mashed avocado to the pasta bowl and stir until every bit is covered in creamy, delicious avocado!
5. Transfer to eating bowl and NOM!

 So simple, quick, healthy and so gosh darn delicious- perfect weeknight meal when you don't know what to cook, need something comforting yet don't want to feel gross and bloated afterwards- make this bad boy!!

 Literally ate this with a big smile on my face as the creamy delicious-ness of the avocado cream sauce coated all the pasta, providing a luscious, silky texture and delicious almost-cheesey flavour as a result of the added nutritional yeast- perfect!

 So now that you've just eaten you're delicious, creamy green pasta bowl and you've felt great, gone to bed and woken up for a brand new day, why not keep up the theme with a HUUUGEEE (and you know me and my smoothies; when I say huge, I mean huuuggee!) green tropical pineapple smoothie!

 To make you're very own full-to-the-brim jar (with plenty left in the belnder for pre-breakfast snacks! :P) simply place:

Ingredients:
1 large chopped, frozen banana
1 handful of chopped, frozen zucchini
1 large handful chopped, frozen pineapple
1 LARGE handful of kale
1 LARGE handful of spinach
3 big scoops of greek yoghurt
1/2 heaped cup rolled oats with 1 teaspoon chia seeds soaked in 1 cup almond milk for around 10-15 mins

Method:
1. Place everything in the blender in this order: zucchini, kale, oats, pineapple, spinach, yoghurt, banana and a splash of water (I only put in a splash as I love my smoothies ridiculously thick- like strain to suck it up the straw thick, so if you like it less-thick just add more water!) and blend on high until smoothie smoooooth!

 Creamy, delicious, ridiculously green without the taste of green-ness at all, filled with all the good stuff and the vitamin C from pineapple to help with the absorption of iron from the spinach and kale, (irons an important one for us ladies!!) this is seriously a great way to start the day- and trust me, it will leave you full for quite some time!

 I'm not one to simply make smoothies with water and frozen fruit because I know that will not leave me full or satiated for very long at all and I also know I would be lacking a huge bunch of vital nutrients from my first meals of the day- thus greek yoghurt, rolled oats, almond milk and chia seeds are added in to add the protein, fibre, good fats and omega-3's my body thrives on to really crush my day! And also the size of the smoothie is simply so large even I won't feel hungry for a few good hours!! :P

 And again; there's no bloating or sickness when this baby starts my day!

Sluuurrrp!

So there you have it friends! Two delicious green recipes that will leave you feeling refreshed, energised, light and happy, simultaneously providing your body with so many essential nutrients without you even noticing! Happy, happy dayzz!

Your turn:
What's your favourite green food? I have no idea what I would choose, probably spinach because it is just so versatile!
Favourite green recipe? Mine would definitely be green smoothies. But I did have a long affair with pesto for a while there... and avocado toast is simply so, so good!
Best breakfast you've had recently?

I hope you all have a truly wonderful rest of your day, look after your amazing bodies, do something you utterly love and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friendly friends!

Choc Protein Granola Bowl!!

Hi there friendly friends! Are you happy today? Are you feeling super pumped and excited and ready to tackle whatever the day throws at you??

Yes? Brilliant!

And if you answered no, worry not! For I have the solution to put you in the best possible mood to tackle your day and feel strong, powerful and extremely happy throughout the entire day! And yes, of course it involves food!

So this brekky idea came to me as per usual; whilst I was just drifting off to sleep and my mind was thinking about all the randomness of the world and then BOOM. This amazing breakfast idea. Looks at time... great, only like 10 hours until I get to create and then EAT this amazing breakfast! (anyone else have these feels when they're really excited about breakfast but it's all the way on the other side of sleep!?!) I quickly willed myself to drift off so the time machine to breakfast could do it's thang and do its thang it did!

This particular day was a full rest day after a completely exhausting, (both mentally and physically) week of 5 exams a row, with a workout on every single one of those days and just no time to breathe. So to say I was in the happiest of states when I woke up this Monday morning (no exam!!), simply sauntered down to the kitchen, got me a glass of water, grabbed my iPad, plodded back up the stairs to my cosy bed, read some blog posts whilst sipping water and waking up for the day and then fully awake; jumping down the stairs to make my dreamed-up creation!!

And create I did!
That my friends is a ginormous high protein bowl of greek yoghurt, home-made, warm choc granola made with natural muesli, nut butter and protein powder, cooked in the oven until crisp on the outside and golden, with sliced banana scattered throughout for creamy, sweetness to break up the rich flavours of the granola and the tart-ness of the greek yoghurt... it really was the perfect mix of flavours and textures and kept me full FOR HOURRRRSS! So if you're one to struggle with mid-morning snacking because you are utterly ravenous- this is your answer; I wasn't even all that hungry for lunch 5 hours later!!

Ok, enough chit chat- onto the recipe!!

Choc Protein Granola Bowl:

Ingredients:
Granola:
2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter (or any nut butter you desire!)
1/2 cup natural, untoasted muesli
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 scoop choc protein powder (I use the Sunwarrior brand- which is vegan)
1 handful wholegrain sugar-free cheerios (so obsessed with cheerios!!)
3/4 cup almond milk
Other ingredients:
1/2-3/4 cup greek yoghurt (as much as you want with your granola)
1 banana, sliced
1/4 cup extra ice cold almond milk- drizzle over at end :)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius, line a baking tray with baking paper
2. Place oats, muesli, cheerios, protein powder and cinnamon in a bowl and stir to combine
3. Place nut butter and almond milk in a small bowl and heat in the microwave until warmed through (alternatively heat on stove in small saucepan- no need to stir; just heat through)
4. Add to dry mix and stir until combined (add water if too dry/ crumbly)
5. Scatter over baking tray, pop in oven and bake for 15-20 mins until crisp on outside, smelling amazing and lightly golden, leave to cool out of tray
6. Place greek yoghurt in a bowl, top with some banana slices, add a sprinkling of granola, more banana slices, granola, banana, granola, etc. until all used up!
7. Pour over some extra almond milk and then dig in!!

I just love the richness of the chocolate granola and paired with the creaminess of the greek yoghurt and sweetness of banana; gah- I want this NOW!!

I also love how the dried fruit in the muesli becomes slightly caramelised and gets this incredible flavour and extra chewiness- just adding to the perfection:

And honestly, it may not look like much; granola and yoghurt with some fruit, but this high protein, filled with good-fats, screaming deliciousness bowl literally kept me full for so long- and that's saying something for me; I'm a pretty ravenous creature majority of the time. Come lunch time I was like; 'Well, I could eat but I'd be perfectly fine not to..'

My stomach was probably too busy happily daydreaming about the breakfast to be thinking about next meal :P

So, yes, make this, eat this, savour this and I promise your body will thank you for it!

I see this in my future. Many, many times.

Stir around a little to coat some of that crunchy granola, mix up those flavours and you get a very tasty granola yoghurt bowl. Why would you ever go out and buy one of these again when you can make one this good at home with simple ingredients??

OK, I need to stop looking at all these pictures of this breakfast; getting hungry and longing for this bowl. Must stop. Don't want to. Need help :P

Ha ha, just kidding. But seriously. This breakfast is addicting!

Your turn:
What has been the best breakfast you've eaten of recent?
Favourite granola bowl flavours?
Breakfast you could eat everyday and never get sick of? That one's a hard one for me because I go through phases; you know, oatmeal, granola, toast etc. Right now I'm on an epic smoothie ride!!

Alrighty that's it from me today folks; I hope you have a fabulous day, do one thing you absolutely love, give someone you love a hug and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friends! :D

:)

Currently

Hello there funky friends!

I feel like during this absolutely hectic, stressful, exhausting, mind-consuming and mind throbbing few weeks of exams and school and crazy we just have lost contact. I feel like we're strangers! And thus a currently post is most definitely in order so we can catch up on current favourites and life of the moment!!

So yes, as mentioned above I have just gone through the fun-ness of two weeks of mid-yearly exams and yes, they did nearly kill me (don't know how I'm going to go through all that agin for mocks and then WACE- Western Australian Certificate of Education in case you were wondering). Which also means I have just entered into what could be considered a bit of a down period in terms of school work (no doubt back at school next week teachers will be assigning all of our last tests for the term!) and thus a bit of down time and relaxation for the brain. Always a nice thing.

But let's get into the specifics of this currently post in my life:
Fitness:

Fitness has been roaring, thankfully, during this stressful time, and like I mentioned in one of my previous posts it is fitness that keeps me sane and reduces my stress levels in life.

Majority of my workouts have left me feeling strong, powerful and I've ripped through them with energy, motivation and determination; something that could have ultimately be sapped from me from all the studying I was doing; so I am incredibly thankful my body knew it needed to move and got on with it!

I've definitely done a lot less running because cross country had my legs working so hard and the carnival was last Thursday, so I rested my legs in preparation for that and now I'm giving my body a slight rest in terms of running for a bit so I don't burn out and start hating the sport that's given me so much. Again.

Instead as that little baby bicep up there shows, I've been working a lot more on my strength training (both with weights and Blogilates toning videos) this has just made me feel so strong and amazing. Also VERY hungry!

As you can tell by this picture, I am sweating. And the fact that it was one of the coldest mornings we have had all year and my face was still dripping shows it was a killer workout- Blogilates Train Insane HIIT is actually crazy. I love it. I do it whenever I want to give my body a good sweat sesh and challenge and it never fails to deliver! Burpees, reptile jumps, plank jacks, split leg lunges, push up planks... the list goes on and on... and you do it four times!!

I survived!!

Food:
In terms of food, I have gone into another one of my phases of obsessions. This has been going on for a while now. Home-made cookies for breakfast, when I used to have roasted potatoes every second day, that time when smoothie bowls were a regular occurrence atleast 3 times a week, oatmeal every day and now?

Mate, the smoothies can't come fast enough!

And I make SUUPPER massive ones. like the jars you see in these pictures? Yeah, there's probably half the smoothie still in the Vitamin whilst I'm taking my pictures. And yes of course it was eating straight from the blender with a spoon whilst my jar sat nicely in the freezer waiting for me :)

This guy was a big papaya green smoothie- frozen papaya, kale, spinach, greek yoghurt, soaked oats, frozen banana, frozen zucchini, water- whaz until smooooooth!

And of course my absolute favourite smoothie ever:

My huge super thick, vanilla protein, nut butter, avocado thick shake:

1 frozen banana, frozen zucchini, frozen avocado, greek yoghurt, soaked oats, peanut butter, kale, spinach, vanilla protein powder, water- whaz- make this and you will not be disappointed! (or hungry for a few hours afterwards either!)

This morning's smoothie of frozen banana, frozen berries, frozen zucchini, soaked oats and chia seeds, greek yoghurt, kale, spinach water- whaz- so good!

My body just craves that freshness, creaminess, coldness, goodness. I feel so good whilst I'm drinking it and for the hours to follow- I can just tell my body is super happy!

Oh look; I do have an example of the remainders after filling my jars ^^ Still extremely delicious and hey, this girl needs her fuel!! No shame! :P

And yes, it is in fact winter here in Aus, so a big fluffy is a must when consuming such large quantities of ice cold smoothie :).

I think my other obsession, on the slight down-low as my smoothie obsession seems a little more persistent, is this guy:

A big warm mug of zucchini oats, typically known as zoats!

For the days when my body just needs a break from trying to break down all the fresh raw, fruit and veg in my smoothies and just have something warm, comforting and easily digestible.

Simply cook up a saucepan of steel cut oats, thinly sliced banana, vanilla protein powder, grated zucchini, almond milk and water until thick and absorbed all the water, leave to cool slightly and then top (bottom of mug, middle of oats and top of last of course!) with nut butter- this was almond butter on the top and bottom and crunchy PB hiding in the middle!

Absolutely delicious and you cannot taste that zucchini; all it does is added extra volume so my bowl of oats is never-ending!!

And you get in a serve of veg- win win!!
Nom!

Finally I have my lazy lunches and dinners to show you can still get in all those good nutrients with minimal time in the kitchen!

This is literally a bowl of steamed broccoli, brussels, peas and spinach with some butter beans, stirred with some tomato paste, herbs and nutritional yeast. Too easy.

Study break/ lunch time?
Roast potatoes (sweet and regular), steamed peas and fresh celery and cherry tomatoes sounds pretty good!

Hello deliciousness:

Last day of exams?
Celebrate with a microwave rice bowl with a rice and quinoa cup heated up with tomato, capsicum, celery, peas, corn, four beans, spinach and hummus until nice and hot and delicious!

So good.

Ok, I feel like this post is getting relatively lengthy (that's how long it's been since we've had a good catch up! So I hope you enjoyed this currently post, I do like writing them, gives myself a snapshot of what's going on in my life making some positives/ negatives more evident!

Your turn:
Favourite workout of recent?
Current breakfast obsession?
Quickest and tastiest throw-together meal?

I hope you all have a fabulous day, smile lots, do what you love and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Me? I'm off to go not study! Ahh the possibilities are endless.. but what did I do with my time before I studied?? :P Bye for now friendly friends!! :D

Fun: