Chobani Favoured Yogurts!

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We all know greek yogurt is good for you and i always used to have a battle in my mind. I would buy it knowing it's higher in protein, lower in sugar than regular low fat yogurts, but i would never enjoy it. I always found it too sour even when i added fruit, so it would just sit in the fridge going off. Waste of money and nutrition.

When i saw Chobani on the shelves at Tesco, i got over excited. For as long as i have read food/fitness blogs, all the US ladies rave about Chobani and i was always disappointed we didn't have anything similar in the UK. I snapped up 3 flavours to try; Black Cherry, Strawberry and Pomegranate. 

My favourite was by far the Pomegranate. When i first peeled off the lid, i was a bit disappointed not to see some pretty pink yogurt staring back at me. A bit sad i know, but it's the little things! 

I dug in and soon realised all the flavour is at the bottom. I gave it a good old stir and soon had the shade of pink i wanted. The flavour was great, the perfect amount of sweet and not a hint of sour. 

I have enjoyed these as part of my breakfast and they also make an amazing post-workout, protein-rich snack. I am so excited that Tesco seem to be stocking more and more brands i have longed from the US! Now if only they could stock liquid egg whites.. ;)

Have you tried these? Any healthy US brands you wish were over here?

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Body Star MAGIFIT Pants*

I was kindly sent these MAGIFIT pants to review as i continue to get my body back. Gym's or exercising around other people can be intimidating enough without worrying about what you're wearing or how you look. 

These MAGIFIT pants are designed to suck you in a little in women's most famous problem areas; the bum and tum, to help you feel more confident. Even though at the moment i only do workout DVDs in the comfort of my own home, feeling good in your workout clothes is one of the biggest motivators i think.

If i feel nice and svelte, i want to keep it that way which means i'll work harder. What i love about these is they are also fashionable, i love combination of the grey and purple, so you can still feel a little bit girlie and glam whilst working up a sweat. They are also bootcut so much more flattering on some figures than the legging type.

The material is comfy and easy to move in, great for all those lunges and squats! I also like how they are quite high waisted and stay in place, while jumping around doing my aerobics or kickboxing, i didn't have to keep pulling them up which is a pet hate of mine! They also wash well and don't crease which is a bonus. 

Have you tried these or anything similar? Would you purchase them?

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Frozen yogurt granola bars!

As soon as i saw these on Lindsay's blog (surprise surprise!) i knew i had to make them. I thought they would be a great after dinner snack to satisfy our sweet tooth.

Frozen yogurt granola bars.

Makes 6.

1 large tub of fat free greek yogurt,

1 small punnet of strawberries, chopped,

2 kiwi fruit, de-skinned and chopped,

3/4 cup of homemade chewy granola,

1/4 cup mixed nuts,

1/4 cup powdered sweetener,

1tsp vanilla extract.

Method.

1. Mix ingredients together in a bowl.

2. Pour into a pan lined with foil (mine was roughly 8x8 inches)

3. Wrap with cling film and put in freezer until frozen.

4. Let defrost until able to cut, mine took about an hour!

5. Cut into 6 pieces, put in freezer bags and store them in the freezer!

Recipe adapted from The Lean Green Bean

I added in the sweetener because greek yogurt can be rather sour and i didn't want that. It worked well and they taste so good! Nice and refreshing after a meal too, even in snowy weather! I love the combination of strawberry and kiwi too, but you can sub for any of your favourite fruit! 

You could also use any granola, but just check the sugar and fat content, some are a bit heavy!

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Wednesday words!

The lovely Emma has started Wednesday words and i just had to join in! I love quotes and poetry and think they can mean a lot.

I thought i'd start with one of my favourite most meaningful quotes

“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”

-Marilyn Monroe.


This has always meant alot to me as i do believe everything happens for a reason. Last year was one of the best and worst years for us and i truly believe all the bad things had to happen so that now we really appreciate what we have and know how lucky we are.


If you want to join in, check out Emma's post on how to and the rules!
I'd love to see all your favourite quotes or poems :)

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Homemade Chewy Fruit Granola!

This is my first time at trying out granola, i have always wanted to have a go at it but been a bit scared, i always assumed i'd just burn it and it would be a waste of time!

I'm so glad i braved it in the end as it came out ok and is super yummy!

Chewy fruit granola.

2 cups oats,

1 ripe banana,

3/4 cup water,

2 tbsp honey,

1tsp cinnamon,

1tsp vanilla,

1/4 tsp sea salt,

1/4 cup mixed dried fruit.

Method.

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees. Blitz banana, water, honey, cinnamon, vanilla and salt in a blender/food processor. 

2. In a big bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Then add the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. 

3. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and spread out the mixture onto it.

4. Pop into the oven for around 30 minutes or until golden brown and crunchy on the outside.

NOTE: My mixture was extremely wet which is why it came out rather chewy and stuck together unlike regular granola but i love it this way. Adapt to suit your tastes and make the mixture how you want it.

Recipe adapted from diet girl.

I have stored mine in a jar and have been enjoying it many ways! Because it is so chewy and fruity, it makes a great snack when craving sweets. It's great on it own with milk or with yogurt and fruit. I also have a recipe coming up on thursday that uses this in it so look out for that! 

Have you ever braved granola? 

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Weekly Prep!

Catching up? Here's what you've missed from the past 7 days;

Recent Eats
What I Ate Wednesday
Getting my body back; Post partum

Weekly prep is crucial i think when trying to eat healthy. Especially now i'm a new mum, time is limited and energy is lacking so it's all too easy to give up and grab something unhealthy on the run or when feeling a little stressed. If it's already done in front of you, you have no excuses. 

Sunday is normally my prep day as we don't really do much and Warren can take care of Sienna whilst i quickly rustle some things up!

For lunches, i just boiled up a big batch of wholewheat pasta and split half with tuna, sweetcorn & extra light mayo and half with chicken and Morrisons NuMe range tomato pasta sauce.

Put them into Tupperware or recycled take out pots and keep in the fridge. 

These are mainly for Warren's lunch as he is a sales rep and in his car all day, it's tempting to go through the drive through of McDonalds or KFC! He just takes one with him every morning!

Next, i made some snacks. We both have a sweet tooth and snack time is our biggest downfall. We always want biscuits or something with coffee or tea during the day and need dessert!

I made a batch of my blueberry muffins and some quinoa breakfast bar. That recipe is to come!

As another amazing snack i hard boiled some eggs. We are really trying to eat more eggs and they are so great for you, lots of protein and really filling! Warren takes one as a snack with some carrots sticks and they can also be cut up and added into meals just to add a bit more nutrients and protein!

Prepping food like this for the week is not only healthier but it's also much much cheaper! Things like eggs, oats and bananas and relatively cheap and the base to most of my recipes/eats!

Do you weekly prep? What things do you like to make? 

P.S. Catch up on my recent food and fitness favourites!

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Recent Eats 1

I got this idea from Lindsay who writes one of my favourite blogs, The Lean Green Bean!

This is great for me to look back on when i lose my way with my healthy eating and another great way to show you my general diet. Hopefully you can get some ideas and inspiration of how to eat healthy without being boring.

Breakfasts;

 Scrambled eggs on toast,
Coffee, Chobani & a blueberry muffin,
Toast with peanut butter, banana, cinnamon and honey.

Lunches;

Prawn & Quinoa salad,
Ryvita with ham, cottage cheese, chutney & carrot and coriander dip,
Ham & chutney roll with NuMe carrot crisps,

New potato and ham salad.

Dinners;

Curried salmon & egg rice,
Spanish chicken, veg and new potatoes,
Chorizo and prawn noodles, Recipe below!
Chicken egg 'fried' rice,
Salmon, sweet potato mash & veg.

Snacks;

Cheese & grapes,
Quinoa breakfast bars,
Chobani,
Coffee & alpen bar,
Hard boiled eggs,
Dark chocolate and dried apricots.


Chorizo and Prawn Noodles! 

75g sliced chorizo,
2tbsp olive oil,
2 cloves garlic,
1 pack of king prawns,
2 lemons, zest and juice,
fresh chopped flat leaf parsley,
wholewheat noodles to serve.

1. Heat chorizo over medium/high heat until oils are released.

2. Drain oil from chorizo, turn down to a medium heat and add the olive oil and garlic until garlic is coloured.

3. Add prawns and turn heat up to high again, cook for a couple minutes until prawns turn pink.

4. Add lemon juice and cook for a couple of minutes until all flavours combine together.

Serve over noodles and garnish with lemon zest and parsley.

This was so tasty and surprisingly not that high in fat regarding the chorizo because you drain most of the fatty oils off. I served it over noodles but you could also serve it with some nice bread!

What have you been eating lately?

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What I Ate Wednesday!

I love reading these posts and seeing what people eat, it helps me get inspiration when i'm feeling bored of what we're eating. It's also helpful to see exactly what people eat in a day, when you're trying to be healthy and loose weight, so i thought i would share mine!

1. Coffee & Soya milk whilst settling Sienna so i can have breakfast.

2. Wholewheat toast with peanut butter, sliced banana, cinnamon and honey. Green tea.

3. Cheese and red grapes. Water.

4. Ham & new potato salad; left over new potatoes, 4 slices ham, peas, green beans and light mayo.

5. Vanilla protein shake.  

6. Spaghetti bolognese with wholewheat spaghetti & lean meat.

I also drink lots of water and green tea throughout the day!

That's all i have for my first WIAW! If you have participated leave your links below :)

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Getting my body back; Post partum!

I am so excited to start getting my body back i can't tell you. Originally, i had planned to start this as soon as i had my 6 week check up and was allowed to exercise again. Well, that worked out the 20th December... Healthy eating over christmas? Just not going to happen! So i allowed myself to just enjoy our first christmas and new year as a little family together first and then get into it after. 

I started healthy eating and working out on the 2nd January. 

My 22nd birthday is the 30th June and as i was pregnant for my 21st birthday, we are going to make up for it this year, so i want to look my best! That means i have roughly another 5 1/2 months to change my body. 

There will be blog posts about exercise and healthy/clean eating. I am also doing video updates with my progress pictures and i'm going to do 'Food and fitness favourites' every now and then just showing you the products/equipment i've been loving to help me achieve my birthday body! The plan is to be even more toned than i was before i was pregnant, (which wasn't very much so it should be achievable!)

This is me before i was pregnant... sorry one picture is a bit inappropriate but it's the only one i have to show you my tummy pre pregnancy! Pretend it's just a bikini :)

I had the smallest bit of definition to my tummy...

Then i grew massively!

and now i am left with this... i didn't even breathe in for you guys ;)

It's not too bad, from the back i haven't changed that much, but i definitely have a little extra tummy and my thighs and arms are a little bigger and not toned at all! All my muscle strength has gone! 

From working out for the last 2 weeks, i have noticed that my abs and back strength are basically none existent! That was obviously expected as i grew and birthed another human being! I still find that crazy!

From looking at these pictures, i don't feel it's impossible to get my body back, i think i have a good starting point and with 5 months i think i can achieve good things! 

I have my workout log so you can see what workouts i am doing and how often etc.

I made a little video as an introduction to this and follow on videos will come! 

I hope you enjoy this series and i'm excited to see where i will be in 5 months time!

This is also my entry to Sarah's 'Get Fit Feel Epic' competition where MoneySupermarket are starting a campaign to help people achieve their goals. 

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