Tuesday 28 June 2016

Recipe: Falafel

This one is surprisingly easy, so it works pretty well if you're pressed for time. If you want to make a larger quantity, double the quantity of chickpeas, red onion, garlic and coriander used).



Ingredients:
400g of chickpeas
One red onion
Two clove of garlic
One teaspoon of cumin
A large handful of coriander
Half a teaspoon of chilli powder
Half a teaspoon of paprika
Two tablespoons of plain flour (I used wholemeal)
A liberal sprinkling of salt
Sunflower oil for frying

Method:

Roughly chop the half onion, garlic clove and coriander, and leave it to one side.

Open the can of chickpeas, drain them and dry them with some kitchen towel.

Combine all the ingredients above (minus the sunflower oil) in a food processor and blitz them until the mixture is smooth and can easily be moulded (if you can imagine shaping them into balls as you would do with dough then it should be okay).

Roll them into balls and flatten them into disk shaped patties. I made them pretty small (and came out with twelve), but you could make them bigger, though it would make fewer.

Put them in the fridge to chill for a bit (well, around fifteen minutes). This isn't essential though.

Once out of the refrigerator heat the sunflower oil in a large pan and fry them until they are golden brown on each side. It's important to use kitchen roll once you've fried the falafel and removed them from the pan as it will soak up the excess oil.



We ate the falafel with wholemeal pitta bread, chopped raw onion and homemade tamarind sauce (which I didn't and don't know how to make, otherwise I'd have posted a recipe). I also tried experimenting with mixed greens, but these really did not complement the rest of the meal, so much so that I ended up picking them out. I feel like Greek yoghurt and/or cucumber might also go well, but what do I know. I put mixed greens in mine and it was slightly awful.





Monday 20 June 2016

Product Review: Aussie Three Minute Miracle Reconstruction

My hair care routine isn't exactly sophisticated. Shampoo and conditioner and either plait and leave to dry or towel dry, heat protection spray and straighten. Not exactly fancy. For a while now, however, I've been aware of just how damaged and dry my hair is, and I felt that it was necessary that I tried something more to help my hair a bit. I'd heard about deep conditioner and had been debating using it for sometime. A couple of weeks ago I decided to take the plunge. I decided to try Aussie's Three Minute Miracle Reconstruction Deep Conditioner as it was one of the few that had been available for purchase from the supermarket I was shopping at. I'd used Aussie products in the past and hadn't been particularly impressed, so I wasn't expecting much from this. I was wrong.





I've used it twice now and I'm really happy! I felt that it delivered exactly as it promised it would- it actually repaired my dry, damage, split end riddled hair. That's an impressive feat. My hair was in a pretty appalling state, but it now feels light, feathery and deliciously soft. There are still split ends but, since my hair had become so bad that my split ends had split ends, this is no surprise. It's not like it can wave a magic wand and cause my split ends to vanish. However, there are far fewer split ends and the ends of my hair no longer feel like straw that could snap at any minute. It also smells amazing!

The only downsides I found with the product is that it doesn't do much to combat frizz (not that it promised it would, but my hair gets very frizzy very easily, so it would have been nice if it did) and I had to straighten my hair to fully see the effect the conditioner had. Aussie does, however, have a deep conditioner specifically for frizzy hair, so I'll probably try that soon in the hopes of eradicating the awful frizz. Despite these criticisms, I really do think it's a great product. It does what it says- repairs damaged hair (and it worked on my insane, thick, frizzy hair which is a miracle in itself) - which is more than what most hair care products do. The fact that I decided to write a review about it proves this easily.

Tuesday 14 June 2016

Meal Snapshot

I want to showcase my diet at different points, to give you an idea of what I eat. Some days are healthier and other days are not so healthy. I feel like a lot of people who blog about health don't showcase the not so healthy points (I suppose they don't have them, but I feel like if you do have them you should still discuss them as it's normal to have days where you aren't as healthy you normally are) in order to make themselves enhance their image as the epitome of health. I want to be open and honest about my diet, displaying the good and the very, very bad.

I decided that, since I've spent a lot of time discussing the healthy side of my diet- and this is primarily the one I eat- I will start of by showing you a healthier day (Thursday 9th June).

I started the day with a banana smoothie consisting of banana, peanut butter, milk, honey and a splash of vanilla. It tasted really good, almost like a vanilla milkshake. I followed this up with a strawberry, spinach and grape smoothie, which is pictured, as I felt I needed a bit of fruit and veg. I also had to finish the strawberries, grapes and spinach.


For lunch I had a baked potato with tuna, which I really enjoy. I didn't take a picture because it doesn't look too appetising, though it definitely tastes so much better than it looks. 

A bit later on I wolfed down half a punnet of strawberries. These strawberries were handpicked from a farm that supplies Marks and Spencer and other supermarkets nationwide with strawberries and they were so deliciously sweet I could not stop eating them. About an hour after that I had a square of Lindt sea salted dark chocolate, which is also pretty yummy- it's the combination of the sweetness and saltiness, they complement each other perfectly!



For dinner I cooked falafel. I'd made it before and really enjoyed it, so I was keen to make it again. However, this time round I felt it wasn't as good. I don't know if it was missing something or if I just wasn't that hungry. I ate it with wholemeal pitta bread, raw onion, a tamarind sauce and, in an attempt to be healthy, some mixed greens, which really did not go. I ended up pulling them out.



I was really cheeky and had two Lindor chocolates before bed, whilst watching Netflix. 

Sunday 12 June 2016

A Health Rant

When I said I wanted to discuss health problems on this blog I had a specific issue in mind. I wasn't sure when to get round to discussing this issue but it has really been getting to me for quite some time, so I think that now is probably the best time to rant about it, especially as it will probably end up being pretty relevant in some of my future posts. This one is a little embarrassing, but it's been causing me so much distress for so long I now feel that it would be a really good idea to discuss it.

So, what's the issue? Well, for quite some time I've been feeling really bloated. I didn't bother sorting out in the past as I had a pretty bad diet and assumed that that was what was causing it, or that it was even just stomach fat that had accumulated after over eating for way too long. However, as I got stuck into my new diet and lifestyle, I noticed that this problem persisted. The longer I kept eating healthily and exercising the more the problem stuck out (literally, haha) to me. I put it down to drinking too much diet coke, and stopped drinking it. This didn't work, and left me more confused.

The more time goes on, the more miserable it makes me feel. The one thing I wanted to achieve regarding weight loss (which is a big part of what motivated me to change my diet) was a flat stomach. I wasn't bothered about any other area, I really just wanted to work on reducing and toning my stomach. I did not want to end up with a stomach so huge that I often look pregnant. The bloating has made me feel so terrible about my body, and I feel so uncomfortable and unhealthy. It kills me to think about what might exist underneath all the awful, puffy swelling, and that it means that I am unable to see the results of all my hard work. It's also testing my motivation- it's difficult to push myself to persist and eat healthily and exercise when I feel so disgusting and unhealthy.

I've been told that it is most likely an irritable bowel (as my blood tests have ruled out everything else). The tablets I've taken so far have not helped relieve my symptoms much, but I will be starting some new tablets and I've been referred to a dietician, so hopefully I will be able to find a solution. I'm also keeping a food diary to see if I can spot any patterns between symptoms and any foods I eat. I'm worried I won't be able to fix the problem but I;m determined to try everything in order to find a solution.

Wednesday 8 June 2016

Recipe: Popcorn Chicken

I'm going to start off my recipe posts with an excellent Friday night treat: popcorn chicken. I've made it before one time but and it tasted absolutely delicious, so I knew I had to make it again. It's really easy and is perfect for anyone who is beginning to learn to cook.



Ingredients:
600g of  boneless chicken
6 medium slices of wholemeal bread
2 eggs
Paprika (as much as you like)
Salt (as much as you like)
Pepper (as much as you like)
Chilli powder (optional and, again, as much as you like)
Olive Oil

Method:
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.

Cut the chicken roughly into small chunks

Place the wholemeal bread in the oven on the highest setting until it is very crisp. Leave to cool.

Blitz bread in a processor until it forms bread crumbs.

Add the paprika, salt, pepper and chilli powder to the bread crumbs and mix together. I don't measure these, instead adding as much as I enjoy. You can taste the bread crumbs if you are unsure.

Crack the beat egg in a bowl (crack the second egg later once you've used up most of first s it may not be needed and you don't want to waste an egg).

Coat each piece of chicken first in egg, then in the breadcrumbs. Place each piece of breaded chicken on an oven tray, and drizzle liberally with olive oil.

Cook the chicken in the oven for 20 minutes.

I'd made some chips to accompany the chicken, and I'm adding some instructions to make them at the bottom of this recipe as they're very simple. You can choose any accompaniment(s) that you want really, but I quite enjoy these.



Ingredients:
6 potatoes
Olive oil, paprika, salt, pepper and chilli powder to taste.

Method:
Pre heat oven to 190 degrees Celsius

Wash and peel the potatoes. Slice them into long strips and place on an oven tray.

Drizzle liberally with olive oil and add as much paprika, salt, pepper and chilli powder as you like.

Cook in the oven for 25-30 minutes.






Monday 6 June 2016

Staying Motivated

I've discovered that one of the most important elements of successfully maintaining a healthy lifestyle in order to achieve weight loss is motivation. However, staying motivated is one of the most difficult aspects of leading a healthy lifestyle. I've struggled with motivation pretty badly myself, so I've come up with a few strategies to help me stay motivated. I'm sharing them in the hopes that they inspire others and help them to stay motivated too.

  • Focus on your goals. The end result is what you're ultimately striving for, so reminding yourself of what you'll achieve in the end can really help give you that push when you need it (especially when it comes to exercise). 
  • Read motivational posts about people who have successfully achieved what you want to achieve. These are often accompanied by before and after photos, which can be quite encouraging, though I always take these photos with a large pinch of salt since they could very easily be edited or taken a less/more flattering angles with better/worse lighting. However, it's always inspriring to hear about people's journeys, and I find that it makes me think of my own and encourages me to work harder at it so I can achieve what I want.
  • Follow/view health/fitness/food accounts on Instagram. I find that this keeps my mind on health and distracts from things that can evoke temptation (pictures of tasty but unhealthy foods are lethal). However, it's important to make sure that they promote a healthy lifestyle and are not advocates for disordered eating- you might then find yourself in very dangerous territory. 
  • Watch videos on healthy recipes/ people who lead healthy lifestyles on YouTube. This is motivating in a similarly to the former point (about Instagram). It can also provide you with some excellent recipe or snack ideas!
  • Find tasty but healthy recipes and make them. I always get a lot of satisfaction from doing this, especially when it comes out tasting great. It provides you with something tasty but healthy to eat, and allows you to kill cravings quite easily. It also alleviates stress, which is a huge bonus!
  • Find healthy foods that you enjoy and work them into your diet more often. This is another one that can help with cravings. It might not be a substitute but it helps you stick with eating healthily whilst also enjoying he food you eat (which just makes everything easier). For example, I really enjoy pitta pizzas, and I've found a recipe for a blueberry smoothie that tastes delightfully like a milkshake though there's no ice cream involved at all.
  • Allow yourself treats (i.e. foods you largely avoid). Sometimes cravings are just a bit too overpowering, and the more we try to fight them the bigger they grow. Allowing yourself food you normally don't every once in a while satisfies your cravings, preventing them from consuming you (which would most likely result in breaking free from the healthy lifestyle you're trying to develop. Well, that's at leat what has happened with me in the past).
  • Start a blog (or a tumblr, or an Instagram, or even a handwritten diary, basically anything that allows you to keep track of your journey while continuing to motivate yourself). You can remind yourself of what you've achieved, keep track of the goals you've set and keep your mind in the right head space, especially when temptation creeps in. 
  • Take progress photos. It's easy to lose sight of where you started and convinced yourself that you're in the same body you were in when you started. Progress photos remind you of how far you've come and the fact that you're body has changed thanks to all the hard work you've put in. When you're feeling down about your progress they're virtually a necessity in motivation as they lift your spirits so effectively, providing you with the knowledge that you are making the progress you set out to make. They've certainly helped me!
These are the things that I've found really helpful so far. I guess different things work for different individuals, and I don't think my ideas are particularly unique, but I hope they may be helpful and inspiring in some sense. If I find other effective ways to motivate myself I'll make sure to post about them. 

I would also like to stress that it is important that all your motivation is healthy and positive- take care to avoid people who encourage others to adopt disordered eating habits as this can have a significant negative impact on your health, both mental and physical. 

Thursday 2 June 2016

A Few Things I Have To Say About Clean Eating

Recently, I've noticed clean eating has been getting a lot of flack, and I am delighted. I'd known about clean eating for a while and it's a diet I'd always aspired to have. When I get healthy, I told myself, this is how I'll eat. Clean eating involves cutting down on processed food and eating more 'raw,' 'natural' products. Refined sugar is banned, meat is banned, dairy is banned, gluten is banned. Seems a bit restrictive doesn't it?

All the food they eat is super healthy, and words like 'nourishing' and 'nutritious' are flung around by the so called 'wellness gurus' who preach about the abundant benefits their diet provides those who follow it with. Avocados are used as substitutes for butter in cakes and spiralized courgette in place of spaghetti. It's easy to be fooled into thinking that by following this lifestyle you'll be transformed into a health goddess. I certainly was- I believed that if I could find a way to follow this diet as closely as I could (budget and time permitting) my eczema would disappear (in fact, my skin in general would clear up and develop an ethereal glow), my hair become glossy, I'd develop an amazing body, my mind would become less foggy and I'd be able to think with renewed clarity.

I realised, however, that this sort of lifestyle would not be realistic for me. I could barely cook (and certainly not well enough to make vegetables taste amazing. This has now changed) and I couldn't afford the expensive products required to uphold the lifestyle. I also became sceptical of just how little the 'wellness gurus' allowed themselves to eat. No carbs? No dairy? No meat? How do you get by on so little? I knew I couldn't do it; I'd miss normal food too much.

That's why I'm so happy to see articles popping up depicting the unhealthy side to clean eating. I love the fact that they discuss how unhealthy it is to cut out food groups when it's not necessary, and the fact that this can also have a detrimental effect on your well being. I love that they stress the importance of a balanced diet that includes carbohydrates, dairy and fat, because we need all of these to be healthy. It makes me feel so much more comfortable about my own diet- when I'd started to embark on a healthier lifestyle I'd felt like I was still unhealthy and that I was doing something wrong by including carbohydrates and dairy products in my diet. These articles confirm everything I'd known since I was little, everything I'd ever been taught. It's made me feel much more satisfied with my lifestyle, and more comfortable about what I eat.

There are other issues with clean eating, some I've read about and some I've detected myself. I remember reading about how even using the word 'clean' to describe the diet is somewhat problematic as it attaches morals to food and implies that all other food is 'dirty' and those who eat it are, by default, dirty themselves. Food is just food. No one food product is better than another because it has a higher nutritional value, and all food serves its purpose in context. One thing I picked up pretty swiftly was the cost of these ingredients- they're not exactly affordable for the average person. A little research into the backgrounds of some of these 'wellness gurus' lead to the discovery that they aren't exactly poor. For example, Ella Mills (aka Deliciously Ella), the poster girl for clean eating who's seen ferocious success promoting her clean, vegan diet, is the daughter of the heir to Sainsbury's and an MP. According to Google, her parents are worth £40 million. When you have that much money to play with it's more than possible to allow expensive items that would be considered luxuries for the majority to become everyday staples. I suppose that doesn't really matter, since she, and others like her, are still wildly successful.

I'll be the first to emphasise the fact that I'm no nutritionist but, then again, neither are most of them which, to me, makes a lot of what they promote pretty questionable. The most important thing is that what you put in your body makes you happy and healthy, and I respect their decision to eat how they want. However, to act as if their diet is the only way you can be healthy (at least this is how I've interpreted it) is wrong, and I personally feel that they should promote the idea that all food is healthy and that a balanced diet is important. This is a topic that I don't feel I'm done discussing, so expect more posts on clean eating from me!