10 Healthy Snacks for Less Than 100 Calories

Article by Julia on February 25, 2011

We love healthy snacks in our house, especially now that no eating plan is complete with out a daily nibble or two. It wasn't long ago that all diets consisted of 3 square meals a day and nothing more, nowadays we are all encouraged to snack but eat smaller meals. This keeps your metabolism high to help you burn fat and stops you from dipping into the chocolate chip cookie jar by keeping your blood sugar level and energy up. Here's a few ideas that are good to prepare in advance for work or can be whipped up easily at home...

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Vegan Breakfast: Healthy Muesli

Article by Julia on February 15, 2011

Homemade muesli is so much better than anything you can buy in the supermarket because it doesn't have any added sugar and you can skip any of the ingredients you don't care for! This is the recipe I use for my morning breakfast and I usually have this 2 or 3 times a week. It's so crunchy and the raisins give it a lovely sweet taste. It's also a great source of fibre and the oats will give you steady stream of energy to start your day with a burst!

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Spicy Tomato Pasta Sauce

Article by Julia on February 12, 2011

This is a quick tasty supper dish, especially quick if you have pre made the sauce. For some reason the sauce tastes even better when left to cool and reheated when required. (can be kept for 24 hours) Cooked tomatoes are even better for you than raw and the tomatoes in this sauce are no exception. They will give you a good dose of healthy antioxidants to help prevent cancers and heart disease. The following will serve 4 people.

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Zumba – Join the Party!

Article by Julia on February 11, 2011

Zumba is the new fitness phenomenon that I have heard a lot about but until yesterday had never tried... If you haven't heard it's basically a dance based aerobic class which is a whole lot of fun and an extremely effective workout. It has been said that you can lose 1,000 calories per class! With Zamba you can salsa, cha cha and hip hop your way to fitness with easy to learn steps that will get your body moving and your lips smiling. Believe me you can’t do this class without a smile on your face!

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Vegan Recipe: Vegetarian Meatballs

Article by Emma on February 8, 2011

This recipe is a favourite in my flat; I always have balls in my freezer! My meat loving boyfriend actually prefers it to the processed real meatballs they have in our local supermarket. For the breadcrumbs I process any stale bread I have left over and put in the freezer in a large Ziploc bag. I can then take out whatever amount I need for any recipe, very handy to make these balls or nut roasts etc.

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10 ways to boost your metabolism

Article by Emma on February 5, 2011

I can't think of anything better than being able to sit on the sofa watching an episode of Grey's Anatomy while my body burns off an extra 200 calories. Unfortunately, no matter what the diet pill companies or fad diets tell you, that's no magic solution for fat burn. There will always be a need to exercise and watch we eat in order to look hot in a bikini. There are, however, a few healthy ways that we can rev up sluggish weight loss and that involves giving the metabolism a bit of a boost. The speed of metabolism, or the metabolic rate, varies from person to person and influences how much food each of us will require. The higher the metabolism, the more food you can eat that won't be stored as fat! Here are 10 quick tips to boost your metabolism:

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Vegan Recipe: Patatas Bravas

Article by Julia on January 29, 2011

This is a lovely healthy take on a traditional Spanish tapas dish. I got this recipe several years ago from BBC Good Food and although it doesn’t taste exactly like the patatas bravas served in Spain, it is vegan and a delicious alternative to oven chips.

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What do you think of the new Trainers on Biggest Loser US?

Article by Emma on January 26, 2011

Episode 4 of the US Biggest Loser aired last night and we got to see a bit more of the new trainers as well as witness the first temptation challenge of season 11! Unfortunately there was no weigh in & elimination this week which I was a bit disappointed about. Disappointed not because I want anyone to go home, but because it's motivating to see the big results they can get from a good diet and some serious workouts. Anyway, it was The State of Union Address which is why the episode was a bit shorter than normal, but it was a good episode nonetheless!

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Vegan Recipe: Squash Crumble

Article by Julia on January 24, 2011

As promised in the Superfoods Post I am putting up another squash recipe; it's warming, filling, cheap and fantastically good for you! Squash is a great source for Vitamins B1 and C, folic acid, pantothenic acid, fibre and potassium and winter squash in particular can help prevent lung cancer due its high concentration of carotenes. That's enough reason to get cooking!

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Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred - Workout Diary Part 3 (Final Results)

Article by Emma on January 23, 2011

It's finally here! The last 10 days of my Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred workout diary and my final thoughts on the workout along with, of course, my weight loss results. I'd like to add a disclosure at this point which is that my eating habits during the 30 days have ranged from "average" to "terrible" (Christmas and New Year!) and in no way have I been "good". So I do want to point out that the results could have potentially been even better than they were, but I'm still extremely happy. Also, I found my daily entries a bit repetitive by the end so I've grouped them up a bit!

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