Holland and Barrett Haul

I'm not one for posting a regular shopping haul, and I won't bore anyone to death by beginning a weekly food shop post - however I did think that my recent Holland and Barrett purchases needed to be shared.

I love this store, and I have for ages - it's just a shame it's not larger! As I am moving this week I thought I would take the opportunity to pop in and get the store cupboard staples I've been so longing to have whilst staying with family. Just to make sure I have the healthy basics straight away - I'll be cooking all month, just you watch!

Feeling Fishy

The home cooking continues! I am trying (without difficulty) to avoid meat, but for the moment, I just cannot let fish go. I love it so much and I do think that I eat it in the right way. You will rarely catch me in a chippie even though I am Welsh!

I've made the following fishy dishes in the last week or so, and both went down well with my family! I wanted to share especially because I'm conscious that all I've posted so far are veggie options, and whilst I love veg - it has to be said that fish is packed full of super goodness.

Salmon - My favourite fish, and luckily for me, a healthy favourite. Apparently considered 'brain food', and an excellent source of high quality protein, vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids (contribute to healthy brain function, heart, joints and general wellbeing

Prawns - A good low fat protein source. Calcium and vitamin E for healthy skin, teeth and bones. They do have a high sodium content which is a shame because there is a lot of goodness in them!

Cod - I found an entry for cod on a site called 'The world's healthiest foods', which I can only see as a good sign! Once again, low calorie source of protein with lots of cardiovascular benefits. An omega-3 rich diet also improves mood and reduces depression and surprisingly, protects against sunburn!

My newest fishy recipes...

Just call me Miss Nutritionist

Exciting news!

I've just signed up to complete a Nutritionist Training course; a certified course teaching the role of nutrition in the body. I'm very excited - I'd been thinking a little bit about doing something like this, but hadn't really got around to it yet. My mum told me about one she saw, and when we then looked it up - it turned out to be exactly what I was looking for!

I might be keen on taking this even further, but this course will be a great introduction. It's all online, and providing I pass the final exam, I can wave around my Certificate in Nutrition with pride!

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The company that runs this course, Diet Specialist, are a team of registered dieticians and nutritionists who not only run this course, but also provide individual consultations, business support, seminars and workshops, and health centre services. They have a scientific approach that I completely agree with, helping people to understand health and wellbeing. Here are their six steps:

Detoxify your body
On starting a healthy eating regime, an initial a detox programme cleanses the body from toxins, provides you with energy and helps you feel revitalised and prepares your body for a tailored diet.

Plan a new and effective diet
Having explored your current diet & lifestyle habits, introduce foods that are tailored according to the glycemic index and their pH balance, with an appropriate calorie content and set at suitable portions & frequency.

Tailor your diet to specific needs
Everyone has their own dietary needs hence your diet should be tailored according to food sensitivities, allergies and intolerances, and for all other health conditions.

Increase your metabolism
Measuring your metabolic rate & identifying which foods slow it down, understanding how to increase metabolism and developing a tailored exercise regime.

Incorporate new lifestyle habits
Successful weight loss is often driven by lifestyle changes, we can help with practical tips on shopping, cooking and eating out, psychological tips to change behaviour and dealing with binges and cravings.

Provide tools to understand nutrition
Not only will we help you to lose weight, but we will provide you with tools such as guidance on interpreting food labels, advice on marketing terminology such as low fat, light & no added sugar and knowledge of ingredients such as E-Nos.

I am so excited to get started, I'm really interested in health and making sure my body is strong and well - this seems like a brilliant way to get started! I will be keeping you posted!

Home cooking

One of my aims this year was to eat better, healthier food and fall back in love with cooking. It's so hard to be creative in the kitchen when you're hardly at home, have a tiny kitchen, or live on a constant party island (more on that later!). Spending some time at home recently I've been having a lot more fun in the kitchen, getting into the habit for my own lovely kitchen in a couple of weeks time.

Whist it would be nice to loose a few pounds and be a little more excited about the way I look, it's mostly about the way I feel, and the benefits that good food brings you. I am sometimes careful about what I eat, but probably not in the right way. I enjoy understanding the theory behind food and what feeds your body properly. To be honest, if you follow that, you can't really go wrong on the calorie front either.

This year I've said previously, I want to try some different diets as well - right now I'm staying away from dairy and, as much as possible, meat. It's only been a week or so but I think I feel better for it, especially the meat. I've never been a huge fan anyway.

It's been perfect to be at home for a while trying out some dishes and back in front of my lovely cookbooks. Here's what I've been creating over the last few days...

Desk Food #1

I work in central London so finding something for breakfast, lunch or dinner isn’t a problem. Finding something healthy however can be more of a challenge. For me personally it’s because of the price and the temptation to have one of the 100 other things staring at me from shelves (£3.99 Chicken Burger meal vs £5 green juice?).

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Another thing that I find difficult is the extent to which one can ‘eat healthily’ now. Last year I think I took it so far that I just couldn’t take it anymore, I couldn’t be bothered, it got me so tempted into eating anything bad that I ruined it. For me personally, it takes too much time to follow one of the ‘diets’ that have become popular now. I have so much respect for everyone who does, but for me it’s just not practical. I couldn’t survive on juice meal replacements, I would be far too bored doing a raw diet, and the healthy pretty foods that so many healthy bloggers post now take too much time, effort and money! And if I’m honest, none of that makes me happy, it makes me feel like I am just conforming.

I always try hard to eat healthily at work although it can be expensive as currently I rarely take my own food. I've decided to document what I believe to be healthy option ‘work food’ choices, and how they made me feel. I will also do those where I didn’t buy my meals and rather brought them myself, as this will be the most common option for me going forward!

1. Breakfast was porridge made with water and a little soya milk, topped with raisins. I had a normal caffeinated tea but once again with soya milk (I don’t think one in the morning does any harm). I didn’t end up eating the banana until much later in the day as I was so full from the porridge - which demonstrates one of its benefits!


2. I appreciate this isn’t strictly food, but I love dissolvable vitamin C tablets - they are the only supplements I ever take and they work wonders for me.


3. Itsu is one of my favourite places to eat, I adore sushi but all that rice didn’t make it suitable for this post. I had a tuna and salmon sashimi salad with miso soup (one of my favourites).


4. I don’t tend to have a snack in the afternoon, but as I visited Itsu I couldn’t walk past their seaweed thins without grabbing some. They are high in salt, but this isn’t about the perfect healthy day, it’s just my opinion; and the seaweed itself is so good for you, full of iron, calcium and B12. I avoided caffeine in the afternoon with a peppermint tea!

Under the sea

A huge weakness of mine is eating out. I love finding new restaurants and trying new food, and London is such a brilliant place to do it. In keeping with my 2015 plan, I will endeavour to eat out a little less (because it’s never always going to be healthy, no matter how hard I try), and to try my best to take care of my body when I do have an evening out.

Eating out is something I really enjoy, so I’m not going to stop doing it, but so is cooking - and once I have my own kitchen again I think the temptation to cook wonderful delicious creations will be distraction enough. Also I think the obscene London rent prices will play their role!

Luckily for me, and a big help on the way to health and happiness, I rarely crave burgers, fries or pizza. Not that I don’t have weaknesses of my own of course, but I do love trying new things. This week, I visited a wonderful oyster bar with some friends from university and had some amazing food that wasn’t very damaging at all (except for the wine, but like I’ve said before.. that will soon be addressed!)

This fantastic oyster bar is in Borough Market. I’ve had oysters before, but this time I had them baked with spinach and they were excellent. I’m sure that they are not liked by everyone, but I adore all seafood and these are so healthy - low in fat and calories, high in protein, iron and omega 3 fatty acids.

Followed swiftly by mussels which have a very similar nutrition content and are just as delicious! I try to avoid bread so had some new potatoes with these - not quite so bad for me as I first thought, however they did come with butter. I’m pleased to have stuck to my attempts to avoid wheat, and try something rather healthy but still exciting. On to the next London discovery!

Business trip munchies

One place it can be extremely hard to stay healthy is when travelling, either personally or with with work - at least for me. You can’t bring your own food, it’s so hard to eat healthily on the go, and if you’re in a city there are so many tempting restaurants about.

Yesterday I had an overnight work trip and managed to stay focused on being healthy throughout. It can be so easy to grab something full of sugar from the train station, or have a much heavier evening meal than you usually would, simply because the option is there. The cooked breakfasts that accompany almost every hotel also don’t do much to curb the temptation.

I try my hardest to be healthy anyway (although I do slip up), but in line with my new leaf - this time I wasn’t going to allow it. My main weakness, especially on trips is a glass of wine (more on this later). I know those arguments exist that red wine can be good for you, but I don’t believe it and don’t want to start thinking that way. I don’t drink that often anymore, and indulging in an occasional small glass of red isn’t something I will deny myself, but it is something I need to think more on.

With this exception, I’m pleased with my first trip of this year being a good start and I felt happy and energised as a result.

Unfortunately, my hotel had a very limited selection of largely unhealthy choices, so I took myself off to Strada for better options. I love avocado so this take on the tricolore starter had to be ordered! It was so fresh, and although there’s mozzarella, I reminded myself that it is full of calcium, protein and B6!

I know descriptions of food aren’t always the most thrilling but I have to share how amazing this salad was - spinach, butternut squash, lentils, plum and sun dried tomatoes, and goats cheese. Seriously gorgeous. I even managed to keep up a good breakfast for the day ahead (excluding most of those veggie sausages as they were breadcrumbed and stodgy)!

I plan on keeping this up going forward; it wasn’t even difficult, it’s just previously been so easy to fall into bad habits of too much, bad food - especially when work is paying.