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Health Hacks: Automate your eating

The more my blog evolves, the more I find myself writing for busy women. Probably because I am one myself, so I understand the need to want to get more done in less time.

But being busy doesn’t mean you can’t be healthy. So I’m starting a new series of posts to provide you with some tips to help you “hack” your health without using up lots of your valuable time.

First up: Automate your eating.

How much of your time is spent thinking about what you’re going to have for your breakfast/lunch/dinner? Only to then go home and throw a frozen pizza in the oven because you just can’t think about it any longer?

Trust me. I’ve been there and if I’m honest, unless I plan – it still happens.

By automating your eating and planning your meals ahead of time helps you prevent making unhealthy last-minute food choices.

Automating your eating isn’t about eating the exact same thing every day. You can have a small – and make sure it’s small because the point of this exercise is to make your life easier – rota of foods that you can choose from. When you get up in the morning and you know what you’re going to be eating for the day – that’s one less decision you need to make.

Dr Oz has famously said how he eats blueberries and greek yogurt every morning because it saves him time debating over what to have for breakfast and therefore avoids the dreaded decision fatigue that so many of us encounter on a daily basis.

The more things we can automate in our lives, the more space and mental energy we free up to make the big decisions.

Continue reading “Health Hacks: Automate your eating”

5 Ways To Help You Quit Sugar (& a recipe)

Sugar has been on the health gurus hit list for quite a while.

Personally, I’m of the opinion that the odd sweet treat like a slice of cake or bar of chocolate will do you no harm, it’s just when that occasional treat becomes a daily habit. And for so many of us, it is a daily habit.

And even if you don’t think you have a sugar habit, you maybe surprised by how much sugar you’re actually consuming on a daily basis – but I’ll cover that in another post.

So if you’re planning on giving up sugar then here are 5 quick tips to help you eliminate excess sugar from your diet.

Use Spices. Continue reading “5 Ways To Help You Quit Sugar (& a recipe)”

London: Sky Garden

I like heights. I especially like to see big cities from above. There’s something magical about looking at grand old buildings look so small and actually seeing how the city fits together.

So I LOVED my visit to the Sky Garden in London. Unfortunately it was raining so I didn’t manage to get outside (or get any really good pictures) but here are a few snaps I managed to take…

Continue reading “London: Sky Garden”

Weekend Reads 15/8

First up, I have to share the above picture with you. Spotted whilst walking the dogs, I LOVE it. I’m not normally a graffiti fan (mostly, because it makes zero sense and where I live 9 times out of 10 is vulgar) but this was such a nice, positive message, beaming out in quite a secluded and grubby area.

Anyway, here are some interesting finds from across the web…

Science Confirms As Effective As 14 Drugs. Continue reading “Weekend Reads 15/8”

Power Drink: Healthy chocolate shake

If you’re in one of those moods where the only thing that will do is chocolate then check this out.
Thick, indulgent and VERY chocolatey – without the crap that you find in shop bought milkshakes.

Oh and did I mention its super simple too? It has just 3 ingredients.

– 350ml Unsweetened Almond Milk (coconut milk works REALLY well too)

– 1.5 tsp of Organic Peruvian Cacao Powder (obviously this depends on how chocolatey you like it)

– 1/2 Frozen Banana

Just place all the ingredients in a whizz. I like to add a teaspoon of chia seeds too for an extra thick shake.

Here are some top smoothie tips…

Continue reading “Power Drink: Healthy chocolate shake”

Shirataki Noodles (aka Yam Noodles)

This post seems to have had a boost thanks to Channel 4’s #FoodUnwrapped so I thought it was a good time to republish it. Since it’s been a year since I originally posted this – and I’ve fallen more and more in love with Konjac and “Slim Pasta” then if you have ANY questions please feel free to leave a comment below….enjoy!

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So I posted my post gym dinner on Instagram last night and since it’s drawn lots of questions, I thought it would be easier to answer them here.

This is the pork and vegetable stir-fry with shirataki noodles I made last night…

Shirataki (or yam) noodles have been used in Japanese cuisine for YEARS. They’re basically thin, translucent noodles that are made from a vegetable called Konjac (which is also known as devil’s tongue, voodoo lily, snake palm, or elephant yam). They dry the yam and grind it into a flour from which they make the noodles. I’m sure you can think of lots of vegetables that have practically zero calories and the konjac plant (the Japanese yam) is one of them.

So just to recap these noodles have no carbs, virtually no calories (a pack has approx 10 calories) , no wheat, no gluten and no sugar.

How to cook Shirataki noodles:

Continue reading “Shirataki Noodles (aka Yam Noodles)”

How the right bedding can boost your health

We all know that bedding can have a big impact on the look of rooms and you’re no doubt keen to find dapper duvets and pretty pillows that have the power to elevate the aesthetics of your boudoir. However, did you realise that as well as enhancing the look of your home, the sheets you sleep in can boost your health?

Helping you get sufficient sleep

First and foremost, comfy bedding can help you to nod off at night. Most adults need between seven and nine hours of good quality slumber a night, but up to a third of Britons fail to get this much shuteye. There are lots of reasons why people can struggle to sink into restful sleep, and bad bedding is one risk factor. When you’re perusing the variety of pillows, duvets, sheets and covers available on specialist websites like juliancharles.co.uk, make sure you choose materials that will help soothe you to sleep. Ideally, the products should offer just enough warmth and they should feel good against your skin.

Bear in mind that as well as helping to give you energy to face the day, sleep plays an important role in fending off potentially serious illnesses. In fact, regular sleeplessness can increase your risk of heart disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also raise your chances of getting long-term mood disorders like anxiety and depression. A lack of sleep can reduce your immunity too, meaning you’re less able to fight off infections.

Although many people don’t realise this, sleep can also have a big impact on weight. Studies have revealed that people who sleep for less than seven hours a day are 30 per cent more likely to be obese than those who get nine hours of shuteye or more. It’s believed that when people are sleep deprived, they have lower levels of leptin, a hormone that makes them feel full. They also have higher levels of the hunger-stimulating chemical ghrelin.

Controlling allergies

As well as helping people to get enough sleep, good quality bedding can play a part in preventing allergy aggravation. Around one in four people in the UK suffer from an allergy at some point in their lives and there are a range of potential triggers. Dust mites and small flakes of skin and hair are often the causes of sneezing bouts and streaming eyes.

If these allergens affect you, it’s worth looking out for bedding with synthetic fillings such as hollowfibre and microfibre. These products are designed to be non-allergenic and they can be laundered quickly and easily. You might be surprised by how much easier it is to reduce your allergy symptoms if you take simple steps like this to control your environment.

Given how much of an impact bedding can have on your health, it’s vital that you choose the best possible versions.

foodie friday: black garlic tofu

O.M.G – have you tried black garlic? The fabulous guys at Sainsbury sent me some to try and I have to say, I’m converted.

It may look gross, after all, there’s not many black foods that we are encouraged to eat…but it’s so weird that it’s good – if you know what I mean?

Black garlic is just your regular white garlic that’s been preserved by being exposed to heat and moisture for more than a month.

The garlic then comes out like jelly, it tastes almost like balsamic vinegar. Its fragrance free too so you can enjoy without the dreaded garlic breath.

I thought I’d make Black Garlic Tofu. It’s a REALLY easy dish, you can serve with noodles, courgette noodles, salad, brown rice – whatever you feel like really. I like dishes that can be served with a variety of things, that way if you change your mind about what you fancy you don’t have to write the whole meal off.

The other good thing about this dish is that it’s really quick. If you’re not a big fan of tofu then you could use chicken, beef or prawns but I don’t think you’ll get the same crispy joy. If you want to know how to cook some good tofu then let me know below and I can do a separate post.

You will need:

5/6 cloves of black garlic
light soy sauce
a good stir fry oil
tofu
salt/pepper/crushed chilli

To start with make sure you take all the moisture out of your tofu and then cut in to cubes. Once you’ve cubed it, give it another dab to make sure that you really have got all the moisture out. There is nothing good about soggy tofu.

Then you need to make a little sauce. To do that, pop your garlic, oil and soy sauce in to a processor and whizz.

Pop some oil in to your pan and make sure it’s hot before adding the salt, pepper and crushed chilli to the oil. Next throw in your tofu and keep turning for at least 10 minutes to make sure that your tofu is crispy all round.

Next pop your black garlic sauce in and mix it in to your tofu. It will look “burnt” but it’s not, it’s just the way the sauce clings on to the tofu and trust me those black, crispy bits are so good.

And you’re done. A healthy meal in around 20 minutes.

please share on pinterest…

How Sugar Affects Your Body (and your brain)

There’s loads of talk about quitting sugar at the moment. It’s becoming more and more apparent just what sugar does to the body. And it’s not the odd slice of cake or chocolate bar that’s really the problem, it’s the fact that the majority of us (even if we don’t think we are) are reliant on sugar.

There’s no question that the majority of us use sugar as a crutch, and not to mention all the hidden sugars that we’re consuming (think low fat goods, tinned soup, white bread etc).

The reason I’m posting this today is I stumbled upon a pretty cool little video from TED lessons about how sugar affects the brain. I’ll pop the video on the end of this post – it’s well worth a watch and only 5 minutes out of your life.

But I also wanted to briefly share what sugar really does to your body. I’m going to admit, I’m just starting out on trying to eliminate sugar from my diet, it’s something that’s been talked about a LOT during my studies with IIN and it’s not easy, but the facts, really do speak for themselves.

The thing is with sugar and this is something that’s been apparent to me for a while is that whilst it’s as dangerous and addictive as hard drugs, it takes a slower approach when it comes to damaging our health. You don’t sit down with a bucket of haribo one night and die straight away from your sugar binge, it’s a slow, destructive process that only really shows itself when the damage is done (i.e obesity and diabetes).

So here are 3 things that sugar is doing to our bodies…

Sugar increases fat storing. Insulin is one of the most important hormones in the body for when it comes to weight loss. When we eat sugar this causes a spike in blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia). Of course if we’re exercising we can burn that off but if we’re sat at our desk or watching tv then it will turn to fat. Continue reading “How Sugar Affects Your Body (and your brain)”

A brilliant podcast

I just wanted to tell you that I’m starting a podcast. Just six to begin with to see if anyone listens, but they’re going to centre around living, working and eating better. Fingers crossed I can get the first one recorded next week – if my site redesign is completed that is.

ANYWAY…

I’m a HUGE fan of podcasts. I find them way more interesting than videos, after all, who has time to sit and watch stuff on youtube? Where as with a podcast you can play it in the car, at the gym or whilst you work. Ideal.

So I have to tell you about one of my FAVOURITE podcasts at the moment – Serial…have you heard of it? I am HOOKED!

Here’s what the podcast is about:

In 1999 a high school senior went missing. Hae Min Lee was found six weeks later in a shallow grave. Her classmate and ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed was arrested for her murder. Sounds a simple enough case right? However, he claims he’s innocent, he has no alibi as he can’t remember what he was doing on the day she went missing – but then again, who does remember what they got up to 6 weeks ago? A classmate at Woodlawn High School says she knows where Adnan was, the trouble is, she’s nowhere to be found. Adnan was found guilty and he’s currently serving a 30 year sentence for first degree murder. Host Sarah Koenig isn’t so sure that he is guilty so the podcast is all about uncovering the truth. Week by week it goes deeper in to the story. It’s truly addictive. If you love true crime stories (like I do) then I can guarantee that you’re going to love this.

What podcasts do you recommend?