Joe Wicks Lean in 15

In the last year, I have made drastic changes to my diet. For those that know me personally or have read my blog from the beginning will be aware that I was a pescatarian (one of those veggies that ate fish). Almost a year ago, I decided to go one step further and throw in chicken and very recently, all meats. 

Fellow vegetarians may gasp in horror (I know a few that did when I told them) but for me, it was something I was really comfortable about. I had become a vegetarian through upbringing and choice but also through laziness. I loathed cooking and found it easier and cheaper to avoid meat. My husband, a true carnivore, supported my diet from the day we met but it did make dinner times odd as we were practically eating separately. Then there's eating out, where the choice on the menu normally formed some sort of tomato risotto or veggie burger (if I was lucky). I had become that painful dinner guest that would always have to make sure there was something I could eat at a place ahead of time or be the awkward one that asked to go somewhere else when there was nout.

Not only was I irritating myself with this, but I was also starting to have the urge the try new things. My diet was pretty bland and in all honesty, I am not the biggest eater of vegetables. When I did go out for meals, I was always curious at other options on the menu. Also take into account my increased training plan by entering the world of triathlon and my appetite went through the roof! So, I started eating chicken/turkey (which by the way I love) and over Christmas, I went the full hog (literally) and opened up my diet to all types of food. 

For Christmas, my husband got me Joe Wicks' (also known as The Body Coach) new recipe book, Lean in 15. Flicking through, all the recipes looked immense and so easy to make (given the title, these were meals that took 15 minutes to make). I decided there and then that New Years would kick off with me following the recipes in this book. Fast forward five weeks and I am a Lean in 15 convert!

The best thing about this book is that everything is straightforward. The recipes contain normal, everyday ingredients (even things like seasonings) and are split into two sections - reduced carbohydrate and post workout carbohydrate refuel recipes. The idea is that you only have carbs if you have worked out (and that is really the only time you should allow them). Taking into account my half marathon training plan, I planned the right recipes for days I worked out and rested. By also planning in advance, it meant I was only purchasing groceries and food that I needed (and not wanted). I have turned to the world of online shopping and it is the best thing ever! No naughty treats at the end of shopping aisles for 'just £1!' to tempt me.

So what are the recipes actually like? Well, bloody delicious to put it bluntly. I have tried probably 60% of them and I have definitely found some favourites. Below are a few that I strongly suggest - ones that are super scrummy, lean and fulfilling. 

CHEESY CHORIZO CHICKEN WITH SPINACH 
(this is to die for!)

GRIDDLED MIDGET TREES AND SPEARS WITH EGGS 
(great option for veggies!)

STEAK WITH SPICY CHORIZO, TOMATOS AND KALE 
(we also chucked in spinach)

EGGS BAKED IN AVOCADO
(we threw in some toast as we opted to make this a post workout meal)

(this photo was sourced from the hubby's Instagram!)

This book hasn't also just changed my diet, it has improved my lifestyle too. Each night, I come home from work super excited to cook with my husband and also to sit down and eat together. I have grown very fond of the kitchen and have found a love in prepping good, healthy and honest food. We chat about our day over the hob whilst we cook and the sit down to enjoy our feast as a couple - how it should be. We have also become savvier shoppers and enjoy planning our meals in advance. Another huge benefit to this book is that my food bill hasn't increased greatly (of course meat has made it more but it isn't breaking the bank). Each week, our average food bill is £40-45. For two people that isn't too bad!

Overall, I cannot recommend this book enough. I urge you to hop on Amazon immediately and make the purchase. It will change your life. 

Lean in 15 is available to buy here.

Lipstick Runner. 

FUEL FOR THOUGHT: Deliciously Ella's Sweet Potato Brownies

This week I have converted to clean eating. If you read my latest Operation Bridal Bod (here), you will see my body is in need of a food overhaul. I have actually been well behaved. Very good in fact! Planning my meals in advance has helped hugely and to aid my habit of sweet cravings, I opted to make Deliciously Ella's Sweet Potato Brownies, which are vegan and free from processed sugar. Thumbs up!

These brownies are super-duper easy to make and take so scrummy - guilt free yumminess!

INGREDIENTS (to make 10 brownies)

2 sweet potatoes

80g ground almonds

100g spelt flour (Ella suggests rice flour but all I had was spelt which works just as well)

Two handfuls of dates

4 tbsps cacoa powder

3 tablespoons of honey (Ella suggest maple syrup but, again, I didn't have this so opted for honey)

1. Chop the sweet potatoes into chunks and cook in the oven set to 180 degrees. Bake until soft and squidgy.

2. Once cooked through, blend with the dates. Then in a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cacoa powder and ground almonds.

3. Mix the sweet potato and dates with the dry mixture, adding in the honey to allow it all to bind together. 

4. Place into a brownie baking dish (or like I have used here - loaf tins) and bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes. Once cooked, place on a cooling rack before serving with a nice cup of tea.

How easy can you get!? It took me around 40 minutes to prepare once the sweet potato was cooked. The cacoa powder relieves the sweet tooth but the mixture alone is very rich so a little slice is all you need to feel satisfied. 

What other clean eating recipes would you suggest? I'm definitely on the hunt for more.

Lipstick Runner. 

FUEL FOR THOUGHT: Home-Made Spelt Birthday Cake

This weekend it was my fiancé's birthday and I decided to make a spelt based birthday cake for him! For regular readers of my blog, you probably know by now that I make everything that is flour based with spelt flour as a wheat free option and this cake turned out super scrummy! I opted for a chocolate loaf cake as it made a handy size for just the two of us. I could tell if I made a huge Victoria sponge, we would be eating it for days!

INGREDIENTS

For loaf:

175g unsalted butter, melted

175g caster sugar

3 eggs

140g white spelt flour

85g ground almonds

0.5 tsp of baking powder

100ml semi-skimmed milk

4 tbsp cocoa powder

100g milk chocolate, grated

150g Nestle Smarties

2 packs of Cadbury's Chocolate Fingers

For frosting:

250g icing sugar

75g butter

Splash of milk

Hot Chocolate powder to flavour 

1. Set your oven to 160 degrees (fan oven) or Gas Mark 3. Line a loaf tin with baking parchment.

2. Whisk together the melted butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Add in the eggs, flour, ground almonds, baking powder, milk & cocoa powder and mix together until fully blended.

4. Add in the grated chocolate and once fully mixed together, pour into the loaf tin.

5. Bake for one hour, checking regularly past 45 minutes. Use a skewer to check the centre is cooked.

6. Whilst the loaf is cooling, start to make the hot chocolate frosting. Pour into a bowl the icing sugar and butter (softened or melted) and mix thoroughly until whipped together. Then add a few spoonfuls of hot chocolate powder (I opted for Cadbury's Wispa) and add until you reach your desired flavour.

7. Once the loaf is cooled, using a palette knife smear the icing sugar around the sides of the loaf. This will be the glue to add the Cadbury's Chocolate Fingers. These will form the chocolate biscuit 'wall'.

8. Next, smear the reminder of the frosting over the top of the cake and apply the Nestle Smarties all over to finish!

This cake is extremely chocolately and the dense form of the loaf means a small slice is plenty, which in turn makes the treat guilt free (well in my eyes anyway!).


Lipstick Runner.

FUEL FOR THOUGHT: Home-Made Spelt Smartie Cookies

Ever baked cookies and found they are not the soft, chewy type you crave? Many of times I have baked cookies that have come out of the oven borderline biscuit with just a snap to break it and a very crunchy texture.

Now though, I feel I have nailed the perfect cookie and this one is wheat free! For this recipe I have opted to use white spelt flour which does not alter the taste or texture of the cookie at all. With about 15 minutes prep time and a bake time of roughly 10 minutes, this is a super snappy recipe that can be whipped up in no time at all. 

INGREDIENTS

135g Unsalted Butter

80g Caster Sugar

80g Light Brown Sugar

1 Egg

0.5 tsp Vanilla Essence

190g White Spelt Flour

0.5 tsp salt

0.5 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

150g Nestle Smarties

Grease and line two baking trays with baking parchment.

The recipe itself is so simple I don't really need to list step-by-step instructions. Firstly, cream together the butter with both sugars until light and fluffy (opt to use an electric whisk). Secondly, add the egg with vanilla essence and stir thoroughly with a wooden spoon. 

Next, sieve in the spelt flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda. Fold in all the ingredients together until a gooey raw cookie mixture has formed. Then, add the colour and pour in the Smarties!

Once all the ingredients are mixed together, spoon tablespoon sized amounts onto the two baking trays. 

When placing the cookies in the oven, make sure you make a note of the time. Whilst traditional cookie recipes recommend around 15 minutes to bake, to get that all important chewy effect you need to remove the cookies from the oven as soon as they have a slight brown finish to them. At five minutes, check the cookies and then at 10 check again. This is when mine had achieved a light brown finish and I decided to remove from the oven at this point.

Leave on the trays to cool for 10 minutes before transferring them onto a cooling rack.

Once cooled, make a brew and put your feet up with a sweet afternoon treat. Careful though. Once you have one you want the whole batch!

Lipstick Runner.

FUEL FOR THOUGHT: Home-Made Blackberry Muffins

Today I went blackberry picking. It was great! After heading out on a bike ride yesterday through the Essex countryside I found loads of hot spots with bramble bushes brimming with ready to pick blackberries! I couldn't avoid this so I ventured out the next day, Tupperware in tow to get me some blackberries!

Two hours later, I got me a few:

After realising that I did in fact have around five kilos of blackberries, I had to get using them before they turn into a mouldy pulpy mess in the fridge. So first up was blackberry muffins. The reason being is that I am currently staying at my future in-laws and after rifling through their kitchen cupboards, I managed to collate all the ingredients I needed for these. 

I got the recipe off Tesco's website funnily enough. I never knew they had recipes on there but this one seemed simple and straightforward so I got to it straight away. The ingredients I used were:

75g Unsalted Butter

75g Caster Sugar

200ml Semi-Skimmed Milk

250g Self-Raising Flour

1 Egg

1 tsp Baking Powder

0.5 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1 punnet of blackberries (roughly 500g)

1. Firstly, I lined a cupcake tin with cases and then creamed together the sugar and butter. Normally at home, I would use an electric whisk but I couldn't find one of these so I used a hand held whisk and got my biceps hard at work! I will admit I didn't get it light and fluffy (my arms were killing!) but I made sure it was all whipped up. 

2. Next, in a separate bowl I whisked together the milk and egg before gradually adding this to the sugar/butter mixture. This makes it very liquidated so make sure you whisk all the ingredients together thoroughly.

3.  I then added in the flour (which I didn't sieve) and again, I did this bit by bit, folding the flour into the mixture each time until it was thick and gloopy.

4. Final step is to add the blackberries. The recipe advises to mash them up slightly so some are whole and some are mushy. Once these are stirred into the flour mixture, evenly decant into muffin cases and bake for 20 minutes at 180 degrees (gas mark 6).

Here's how they turned out - not bad for a last minute bake off! Mary Berry would be pleased (I hope). 

For the full recipe please visit Tesco's Real Food website HERE. 

Lipstick Runner. 

FUEL FOR THOUGHT: Home-Made Granola

My first recipe on the blog and one of my faves! This step by step to make home-made granola is super easy and will provide you with a ton of the stuff so it's great to take to work for breakfasts.

Granola is one of my favourites. I'm not a fan of hot breakfasts - I much prefer a good serving of this with mixed berries and yoghurt. Mmm yum!

Here's what you need to buy and do...

INGREDIENTS

450g porridge oats

120g sunflower seeds

100g light brown sugar

250g almonds

300g raisins

1tsp salt

175g apple sauce

120g golden syrup

4 tbsps honey

2 tbsps sunflower oil

1. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper. Set the oven to 170 degrees (fan oven setting).

2. Add porridge oats, sunflower seeds, light brown sugar, almonds and salt together in a large baking bowl.

3. Measure and add to another bowl/jug the apple sauce, golden syrup, honey and sunflower oil.

4. Add this to the dry mixture and mix well.

5. Spread mixture onto the two baking trays.

6. Bake for 40 minutes, turning the mixture halfway through.

7. When cooked and golden brown, remove from oven and allow to cool. Once it has chilled, add in the raisins.

8. Store in an airtight container and enjoy!

Sounds easy? Well it is. This took me hardly anytime to prepare and cook and I have managed to see it last me all week for work with lots spare. Here's how I munch it on the go:

(home-made granola with Yeo Valley strawberry yoghurt)

Lipstick Runner.