Fitness Friday| Low Cal Cake| Chocolate & Beetroot Cake Recipe

Living a healthy lifestyle means everything in moderation and not depriving yourself of anything! If you want a cake, eat a cake, just don’t them all! I am a massive cake fiend! I love baking them, I love decorating them and I obviously love eating them! So as I would quite happily eat cake most days I thought why not try and make my cake recipes a bit healthier, so if I do indulge I’m not going completely overboard. So I was over the moon when this month Women’s Health magazine featured 5 wonderful health boosting, low cal, cake recipes. I decided that as it was my trainer’s birthday yesterday, I would bake him some healthy Birthday Cake, so everyone at my Kendal Bootcamp Class could try some and be my little guinea pigs!

I made two batches as it was my first attempt at a “healthy cake”, the first batch wasn’t so great. I don’t think I used enough chocolate and didn’t bake it for long enough as it was a little too moist, a little bitter and tasted a lot like beetroot. The second batch was much more successful, it was baked for a few minutes longer so the consistency was cake like but still moist, and there was a little more chocolate in this one, so it tasted like a chocolate cake! The pictures are of the first cake which I dusted with icing sugar, the second cake I topped with a thin layer of buttercream icing… a little bit naughty I know, but it was a Birthday cake! The cake went down very well with everyone at Bootcamp and was a great treat for our hard work. So as it was a success I thought I would share the recipe with you!

You will need;

300g cooked, unseasoned beetroot, peeled and purred, 4 large eggs, 4 tbsp honey, 1tsp vanilla, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder, pinch of salt, 125g ground almonds, 135g good quality dark chocolate (It HAS to be good quality!), 8 tbsp olive oil.

Start by pureeing your beetroot in a food processor. Once smooth tip into a bowl and mix in the eggs, honey, vanilla, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Next gently fold in the ground almonds.

Now melt your good quality dark chocolate. Once melted, pour in the olive oil and mix thoroughly; you should be left with a liquid that isn’t separated and is smooth and shiny. Now gently pour the chocolate mixture into the rest of your cake mixture in the bowl and fold gently.

Once everything is combined, pour the cake mixture into a greased cake tin, and bake in your preheated oven at 180c for 35-40 minutes. Try the trusty skewer test to ensure your cake is cooked through!

Finish by either dusting with icing sugar or cocoa powder, or if you are feeling naughty give it a thin layer of buttercream icing! Cut into 8 pieces and at only 260 calories per slice you can really enjoy it!

Have you ever tried chocolate and beetroot cake? Do you have any other favourite healthy cake recipes that I should try next? Do you think you will give this one a go?

Be sure to check out my blogger of the week and fellow Cumbria Blogger Anna from On The Dressing Table. She has the most amazing beauty blog, full of insightful and honest reviews, plus she is the sweetest girl!

Fitness Friday| Overnight Oats Recipe| Easy, Healthy Breakfast

Since moving into my new place I have been on a mission to overhaul my diet and eat fresher, greener and leaner. I eat regularly with 3 meals and 2 snacks each day, but my breakfast and lunch were not the healthiest. They were more grab and go, think cereal bars and cup-a-soups.

However for the past few weeks I have been frantically researching recipes and have discovered two new breakfasts, one of which I’m going to share with you. This week I’m sharing a recipe that is super healthy, easy to make, and the perfect way to start the day… Overnight Oats!

Overnight oats are essentially oats soaked overnight  in any liquid you fancy! The most common mixture is 1/2 of oats, milk and yoghurt. There is absolutely no cooking required so it takes literally minutes to prepare and they are easy to grab as you run out of the door in the morning.

I was dubious at first as I imaged it would just be cold porridge… and who wants to eat that. But the magic with overnight oats is that they can be totally adapted to suit your taste. You can add ingredients the night before and allow them to soak in or just stick with topping your oats with the extra ingredients. Below I am sharing with you my current favourite flavour, but feel free to get creative!

My oats are peanut butter and banana flavoured. The below recipe makes quite a substantial portion but I do a lot of exercise so need it, but if you a more dormant or can’t stomach a big breakfast, try using 1/3 cup of oat,milk and yoghurt. Here’s the recipe;

• 1/2 cup of rolled oats
• 1/2 cup of skimmed milk
• 1/2 cup of low fat natural/greek yoghurt
• 1/2 mushed banana
• 1/2 tbs organic peanut butter

All you do is mix all you ingredients together in a bowl. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge over night. In the morning take them out of the fridge, give it a stir and add whichever toppings you fancy. I add the other half of my banana chopped banana and a small handful of walnuts.

This breakfast is guaranteed to see you right through till lunch!

Nutritional info for the oats without any topping- Calories- 365, Carbs- 55g, Fat 10g, Protein 17g.

What’s your favourite healthy breakfast? Have you ever tried overnight oats? If so what toppings a flavours do you prefer… give me some ideas!

Don’t forget to check out my blogger of the week Natalia from Natalia’s Beauty Blog. If you enjoyed this post Natalia often posts about fitness too, so be sure to give her blog a read. She also has the most gorgeous OOTD posts.

Baba Ganoush Canteen Kendal| The Perfect Brunch

 

Bottom Image from www. Baba-Ganoush.co.uk

Now that my boyfriend Matt is finally moving to live in the same town of me, we finally have the opportunity to discover some new eateries, and our first stop was Baba Ganoush. If you are from the Lake District in Cumbria you will of probably heard of this spot. If not, when you visit Kendal you have to put this on your list of places to go.

Baba Ganoush is a canteen and food shop hidden down a little side street in the market town of Kendal, Cumbria. Matt and I visited the canteen on Saturday morning at around 11 and the place was already filling up quickly. We were greeted by a smiley, friendly member of staff (always great) and told to take which ever table we fancied. Menu’s were already on the table so you could start making your choices right away. The place has various specials boards scattered around which are filled with soups, main dinners, platters and cakes.

As it was brunch time, Matt went for the Fish Finger sandwich on granary bread (all the bread used in the spot is fresh from the famous Staff of Life bakery next door) and I was rather greedy and went for a soup and hot sandwich. The food arrived very promptly and was delicious. You get plenty of filling for your money, and you can tell that the ingredients are of the highest quality and the fresh bread just makes the food even more homely.

The canteen is a rather small place with around 12-15 tables, and it was full of a variety of ages, from old dears having their tea and cake, to groups of friends having hangover breakfast and families on days out stopping for lunch. Matt and I have already planned our second visit for a hangover breakfast of pancakes with syrup, butter and bacon for me, and scrambled egg with chorizo on toast for Matt.

If you have visited the Lake District of Kendal, where are your favourite places to eat? Or in your own home town, let me know where to eat in case I make a visit!

Easter Egg Brownies| So Naughty but So Nice

 

I have been meaning to try this recipe for a little while after my best friend Sarah shared it with me, and after seeing Becky form Milk Bubble Tea bake her Creme Egg Cupcakes I had major cake envy and spent last night baking these naughty treats above.

The original recipe is for Cadbury Creme Egg Brownies and it has circulated various food blogs over the run up to Easter, but as members of my family do not like Creme Eggs my boyfriend suggested we made Cadbury Caramel Egg Brownies as well. The mixture of gooey brownies with the Caramel or creme egg filling is just divine!

You will need;

185g unsalted butter, 185g chocolate, 85g plain flour, 40g cocoa powder, 3 large eggs, 275g golden caster sugar, 3 Cadbury Creme eggs cut in half, 3 Cadbury Caramel Eggs cut in half. 

Preheat your oven to 160C and grease a 20cm square baking tin. Melt the butter and chocolate together. Break your eggs into a large bowl and tip in the golden caster sugar. Beat them together for a good 3-5 minutes, or until the mixture looks thick, creamy, pale and double its original volume.  Pour the cooler chocolate mixture onto the eggy mouse, and gently fold together.Sieve the cocoa power and flour onto the top of the mixture, then gently fold it in. Pour the mixture into your baking tray and cook for 15 minutes.

Take your tin out of the oven after 15 minutes and gently press the Cadbury Creme and Caramel Egg halves into the mix. Space them evenly apart and don’t push them too far in otherwise they will sink. Put the tin back into the oven and bake for another 5-10 minutes, or until when poking a skewer into the mixture it comes out clean. Leave to cool before removing from the tin and cutting into squares.

A little Easter treat for yourself and a fun way to make your chocolate brownies a bit more interesting! Do you think you will give them ago? What is your favourite Easter treat?

Are Detox a sham or not?

So its that time of the year again, where health and fitness comes to the front of everyone's mind. Detoxing is obviously one of the most popular ways to kick start this phase many of us go through. From juice diets, to yoga, to beauty treatments, there are many different ways to detox. However I recently read an article in the Daily Mail saying that detoxing, in fact, had no benefit to health and is a sham. To be honest I always take any article published by the Daily Mail with a pinch of salt, as I believe they can over react a lot!

So I did some researching into the topic. Experts believe that the body is perfectly capable of ridding of all the toxins in your system without the need of detoxing. They even claim that some detoxes out there can even be dangerous. Detoxing is not what improves your body's functionality, it is the increase in the healthiness of peoples diets that make them feel better, and it is in fact bad diets and lack of exercise that make people feel sluggish and heavy, not toxins. Basically experts say detoxing is no more than a marketers dream and a million pound industry.

I personally agree that the body does detox itself, but to a degree you can help your body through many methods. You cannot cram your body full of rubbish continually, do no exercise and expect it to still function effectively and properly for the rest of your life, you need to nudge it in the right direction. I don't agree with spending large amounts of money on special products, but instead, upping your intake of vegetables and fruit, restricting carbs, taking up yoga and Pilates (exercises that concentrate on breathing and stretching), just using your commonsense. Do not buy into fads and pills, if you up your vitamins and fibre you will see more movement in your bowls (lovely I know, sorry) which will help rid the waste you have in your body.

For example my mother had a series of colonic irrigation, and the benefits she gained form this were great. When she saw the therapist she obviously listed all the possible benefits, but my mum personally lost around 7 pounds, which was most obvious on her upper abdominal area, as this is supposedly where waste in our body become crammed, and makes us look bloated no matter how much exercise and toning you try to do. She also felt less lethargic, and recommends the treatment to everyone and anyone who will listen.

A personal example of detoxing is when myself and my friend did the Maple Syrup Diet, which is famous because Beyonce used it to lose weight for her role in Dream Girls. Basically you are to drink nothing but a mixture of lemons in hot/cold water, organic maple syrup and cayenne pepper (it was pretty gross). You drink this for 6 times a day for 10 days, me and my friend managed 4 1/2 days. Surprisingly my hunger disappeared after 2 1/2 days, however my humongous headache made me want to die. This is an extreme "Detox" and I would not recommend it, as personally apart form losing 5 pounds, I saw no other benefit, I think I actually looked worse.

What are your opinions on detoxing. Have you ever tried a detox, or bought any products?

Victoria Secrets Model Diet| Miranda Kerr Diet when she is at home

For those of you want to start your health kick right away, here's a little show of what a Victoria Secrets model eats. It may give you some inspiration.

Breakfast

Yoghurt and muesli with a fresh fruit salad.

Boiled eggs with rye toast and avocado

Lemon and Ginger water

A cup of green tea

Lunch

Spelt crispbreads together with fresh tuna salad

Lemon water

Dandelion tea

Dinner

Either fish or lamb chops, or salmon steak or steak with salad or vegetables.

Eat heaps of greens and sweet potato and pumpkin roasted.

Cup of green tea. 

Are you going to have a health kick start this year? What are your ambitions?

Christmas Time In Pictures

This is the past week for me in pictures.  I have had an extremely busy Christmas week. I only had 3 days off work, and still managed to clock up 360 miles travelling to see all mine and my boyfriends family. When I arrived back in Newcastle my father and his girlfriend visited for a few days, so it has only been till today that I have had a day to myself. Not that I am complaining I have had a great Christmas.

I hope you all had a lovely week.

Diet Tips| Dinner Do's and Don't

After my article on "18 days to look fabulous" a few comments mentioned that they find the many dinners they share with family and friends the hardest part of trying to be healthy during the holidays.

So I am going to share a couple of tips I have picked up.

Make sure even when following these tips that you enjoy your dinners. Do not spend Christmas worrying about what you put in your mouth, still indulge, just don't over-indulge!

• Fill up half your plate with vegetables or salad. These obviously are extremely good for you both on your waistline, but also your skin and hair. The more food you have on your plate that has less calories, the less you are going to eat over all. 

• Try everything, don't panic about eating something that may have a high calorie count. Just make sure you only have a couple of bites. Mariah Carey followed this rule to lose weight for her world tour. It is called the Morsel Diet, named so, because you have a tiny portion/couple of bites of whatever food you want, but ONLY a couple of bites. (I'm not saying to follow this diet, just follow the rule for your big dinners)

• Only have what is on your plate! Do not nibble before hand when preparing food, and do not take seconds. If you must, have more meat, more vegetables, not more potatoes. 

• Ask for a smaller plate. If with your own family, this is a simple ask, if not do not worry. If you have a smaller plate, you can not fit as much on it, so will definitely eat less.

• When at a buffet at a party or other event, follow the same rule. Have one plate only, fill it half with salad or vegetables, and have plenty of chicken legs (they always seem to have these at buffets) Just keep away form the carbs (pastry/ crisps etc) and stock up on protein (chicken, ham, sausages)

• Do not nibble on sweets, crisps, nuts throughout the day! If you must have some then portion it, take a separate bowl and have a handful (one handful) and eat this portion and this portion alone. If you don't portion and instead nibble and graze, you do not realise how much you have eaten, and can over eat very easily.

• For desert, have some!! (only if you want) But have a normal portion, not a huge one, you can always say you are full from dinner, so can not manage a large portion. The key with dessert is, if you can have it without cream, ice-cream etc; this can easily add another 200 calories.

It really is all about portion control, here's a picture to help you.

If you can not follow these tips, it does not matter! What you need to do is pick 3 or 4 big events, and have whatever you want during these dinners/parties, and just eat moderately and healthily for the rest of the time.

I hope these tips help you take control of your diet over the holidays. Let me know what your favourite portion control tip is. 

Girls with muscles| Weight Training for Girls

Oh good grief  I get sick of the media having a go at Jodie Marsh for her "new look". I don't particularly like the girl, but then again I've never met her, she might be lovely. But I do admire what she has done. She has radically changed her lifestyle, diet and exercise to make herself the fittest she can be. Yes the world of bodybuilding can not be the healthiest thing you can do to your body, due to extreme dieting shortly before the show and dehydration to draw out your muscles. But it sure is a hell of a lot more healthier than sitting on the couch eating chocolate and crisps.

Now because Katie Price has been photographed with a muscly man, the media are now scared she is going to end up looking like Jodie Marsh as well. I my honest opinion I agree when she is in competition and tensing then no its not a sexy look in my eyes, but when she is dressed up nicely in a dress, not tensing, she looks great, lovely and toned.

I hate that most girls are scared to do strength training because they are scared of getting muscles, but getting muscles will not mean you grow big, it means you become tight, not jiggling, not covered in cellulite. Girls should train more often, its a great rush to know you are just as strong as the next guy (literally). That you can lift a good weight, that you can do "man" pushups. Try it, you may surprise yourself.

What girls look like who weight train

Remember strong is sexy! Try adding some toning moves to your next workout! Don't be scared of those dumbbells!

18 Days To look Fabulous| Tone Up Quickly

It is 18 days till the big night, New Years Eve! This means we all have 18 days to look and feel amazing for the big event (whatever your plans are.) Most people spend the occasion catching up with those we have not seen for a while, so what better occasion to turn up and make jaws drop. It is obviously very hard to maintain our weight throughout the holidays, never mind lose weight. However it is doable, especially during the week between Christmas and New Year, as the majority of parties and get togethers happen before Christmas day. 

So what I'm suggesting is that we do not punish ourselves with relentless calorie counting, but instead make healthier choices. Here are my top tips;

• Do you need an extra glass of wine after the 3 you've already had? Try swapping a large glass of wine (185cal)  for a vodka lime and Soda (76 cal), this will save you around 110 calories.

• Always have a healthy breakfast. You can at least start the day right. Have a healthy filling and nutritional breakfast, for example a smoothie, for your vitamins, then scrambled or poached egg on wholemeal toast. The protein will ensure you stay full untill lunchtime, and if you are hungover the eggs enzymes are good for your hangover (if you can stomach it.)

• Have a health lunch as well! If two out of 3 meals are healthy, it will make a difference. Plus if you have eaten well for most of the day, you will less likely want to ruin your good work, by indulging too much for dinner. Have some soup, hummus with carrot/ celery/ pitta bread, or warm Chicken and pasta salad (in a tomato sauce, not creamy!!)

• Have a 30 minute brisk walk 5 days out of 7. Try going for a walk after your dinner, this will help your digestion also, so you will feel less bloated. Wrap up nice and warm and take the family or dog with you. If you don't fancy walking at night, then try walking to work, or get off your bus or tram a stop early and walking the rest. It may only be 10 minutes extra, but it will help boost your metabolism meaning you will burn more calories when you are sat at your desk all day.

• Do some strength exercises, even if you are new to it. Did you know that for every pound of extra muscle you gain, you burn an extra 150 calories a day! Plus it will help your posture, and the dreaded cellulite! So if you plan on wearing a short dress you need to be doing some lunges! 
• All I am asking you to do is 50  bicycle crunches in the morning when you wake up, and 50 before you go to bed. Bicycle crunches work the whole abs area, so will help trim your waist quicker. 
• Plus 50 squats while you brush your teeth in the morning and again in the evening. It is better than just standing there, plus squats are a great calorie burner, but make a great difference to the toning of your legs and ass... We'll all be looking like Beyonce in no time.

Now I am absolutely certain that everyone of you reading this will be able to do these small but significant things every day over the next 18 days. It really will make a difference your body, your skin, your hair, and it will ensure you look fabulous on the biggest night of the year.

Lets go for it! Let me know what your plans are for the New Year?

The importance of Health! Which life are you designing?

This image popped up on my Dashboard on Tumblr, and it really struck a cord with me. I may not be the healthiest person in the world, but I have a great respect for it, and thankfully a knowledge of it.

I get really annoyed by people who assume that because they are slim or skinny, whatever, they believe that they are healthy. Because I can tell you many of them are not. Your weight is not a representation of your health, you can be slim yet still have unhealthy fat around your organs that can damage them. You can be skinny, yet be unfit, and not have strong bones and muscles to support you, that will quickly deteriorate with age. There are plenty of people out they who may be classed as overweight, due to their high BMI's yet, they are healthier than people who are deemed healthy because of a lower weight.

I am not consistent with my health and fitness, but I do try, and I know that although "overweight" I am a lot fitter and healthier than some of my friends. Nutrition has a lot to do with it, and since drinking smoothies everyday for breakfast, which include on average half a mango, quarter of a cucumber, handful of berries, one banana, and a handful of spinach, I can't believe the crap I used to start my day with. Even just walking for 30 minutes a day is better than nothing. I believe that everyone should be active at least once a day. There is no excuse for not working out these days, especially with the computer games and DVD's that mean you don't have to trek to a gym, they make working out work round your schedule (although exercise should always BE part of your schedule). Even if injured with a bad back, or leg etc, do some gentle exercise such as yoga (which is amazing!)

Overall you may be young now, but how you live your life now will effect how you live it when you are older. Your body has a very good knowledge of how you treat it, and it will treat you the same as you age. Treat your body well and it will look after you for years. Abuse your body and it will soon shy and retire from yourself, and will refuse to work properly.

Just take the picture for example, or look to Jane Fonda for inspiration. At 73 she has just release a new exercise DVD. She admits she can;t do everything she used to, but she tries. (And she still looks fabulous doing it.)

Please just think about how you treat your body. Even just aim for 4 days healthy, 3 days not, and try and build it up and up. Aim for healthy breakfast and lunches, every little bit will help, and the more you do it, the more it become a habit.

A Bad Diet Not Only Leads T o weight gain, but also body hair!

So this is one of the most unusual facts I found out the other day. I just love it when scientists discover things like this, it makes me wonder how they went about discovering such things.

Anyways, scientists have recently discovered that peoples body hair can be influenced by outside factors. Body and facial hair is a big worry to many women, so to find out what causes it gives all women so hope.

Obviously the most common cause of hair is through genes and race, some people are just hairier than others. The other more interesting factors are what follows;

1. Cakes and Biscuits- Eating large quantities of sugary refined carbs, like biscuits and cakes can trigger excess hair. The science behind this is that these carbs have a high glycaemic index, which means they release their energy quickly and can cause insulin resistance. Insulin is the hormone which controls blood sugar level and the resistance means the hormone becomes less effective meaning the blood sugar will lower. Because of this the body will increase its production of insulin which consequently causes the ovaries to produce too much testosterone which can lead to excess hair. P.S- Being overweight can also cause insulin resistance. 
2. Polycystic Ovaries- This condition is the main cause of excess hair in women. The most common symptoms is a high level of male hormones (androgens), which leads to hair growth. If excess hair is due to a hormone imbalance, it tends to occur in areas such as the chin, upper lip, sideburns, chest and inner thighs.
3. Eczema- Skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis causes hair growth due to inflammation, which  causes increased blood flow to that part of the area, accelerating hair growth. 
4. Menopause- As oestrogen declines during menopause, again that pesky testosterone sneaks in and becomes more dominant, again causing excess hair growth. 

How to tackle it-
Obviously with everything prevention is the best cure. so making sure you are fit and healthy will help you avoid weight gain, and can reduce the chances of developing conditions that increase your chances of hair growth. If its a hormonal condition that causes the hair growth, you need to wait to finish your treatment as hair growth will still continue so results wont be permanent. It is also recommended to use a range of medical treatments available on the NHS, such as anti-androgens (which block male hormones), eflornithe cream (to slow hair growth) or the contraceptive pill.

To remove hair in general there is your shaving (quick and painless), waxing (painful but effective), bleaching (painless, but not always an option for darker skin), and laser treatment (permanent, effective, but expensive).