Guest Post: Welsh Girl Eats…Healthy Living When Life is Busy
Feb 10
Posted by Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes
Hello there! My name’s Sarah and I chat away on Welsh Girl Eats.
Far too long ago, the lovely Jemma asked me to write a guest post for her. I’m only now getting around to it so this post is waaaayyyy overdue.
I’m going to share some of my tips for keeping healthy when life gets crazy!
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Try to be organized.
I work shifts and have just completed a busy nursing degree so being organized is key; especially when it comes to packed lunches, dinners and snacks.
When I get a chance I usually roast a load of veggies and potatoes that I can take into work and add to my meals, and cook a batch of grains. I always prepare my packed meals the day before and to cover me for a couple of days.
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Packed meals and snacks are essential.
I always take in snack bars, fruit, a bag of nuts and dried fruit to munch on if my energy levels get low or my meals need topping up, rice/oat cakes, healthy crisps (I know they’re nutritionally void but sometimes I just need something to fill a hole until I can eat something more substantial), and dark chocolate.
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Shop wisely
Knowing that my schedule is busy, I make sure I buy healthy foods that take up little or no prep time. For example, I love these raw, vegan snack bars:
I guess that leads on to my next point.
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Don’t be afraid of packaged foods.
We’re quite lucky that most of our supermarkets stock fresh, natural foods that you can just grab such as hummus, or microwave brown rice, or a great soup.
I know these things aren’t ideal but it’s better than nothing. Plus, as long as you’re sensible and read the ingredients on the back before you buy you’ll be fine.
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Stock your freezer up.
Jemma seems to be really good at this one. Make big batches of healthy meals and put some portions into your freezer for when you’re too busy to cook. I’m not great at this, but I make sure I have packets of frozen steam veg and rice.
These are great for times when you haven’t had a chance to go shopping for fresh produce.
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Go easy on yourself.
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In an ideal world, I’d eat the perfectly healthy diet all the time, and maybe not each too much chocolate on a daily basis. I’d never inhale my food rather than slowly savour and appreciate every bite. But life happens and no-one’s perfect. As long as you’re sensible most of the time then it’s all good. For example, I probably never have a day were I eat the ultimate healthy diet with no junk or sugar (or however else you wish to define the perfect diet), and I snack way too much. However, because I always make sure to incorporate veggies into lunch and dinner then the damage is minimal. You get the picture, right?
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Exercise.
Source
This one’s more tricky for me. I personally find it easier to be more disciplined with food than I do with exercise so I may not be the best person to give tips on this one. However, when I’m feeling overwhelmed I adjust my exercise expectations and make sure I get at least 40 mins of movement (walking is one of my faves) 4 times a week. I’m also rubbish at exercising in winter so in the winter months I rely on this, then one spring comes around I dig out my running gear and resume my spring-summer running schedule.
I guess if I were to sum this post up, my two take away points are to be organized and to be kind to yourself! There’s only so much you can do, and guilt and being hard on yourself is never helpful. Sometimes life does get too busy and you have to cut yourself some slack and allow other things to take priority.
What are your tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle when life becomes crazy?
Posted in guest post
3 Comments
Tags: guest post, Welsh Girl Eats
WIAW…All packed up!
Feb 8
Posted by Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes
Hello peeps! How are your weeks going? So far mine has been very productive and generally just great!
It’s Wednesday…it’s time to partttttty!
This week’s WIAW is all about the veggie love. Now I love me some veggies in every which way, whether they are baked, roasted, stir fried or just steamed. Since I’ve been a busy little bee this week I thought I would show you how I pack my veggies and take them on the go with me like I did yesterday.
But before all sharing all of my foodie delights of yesterday I had an awesome workout session in the gym which involved a 30 minute hill climb on the cross trainer and a 10 minute session of high intensity intervals on the bike followed by 200 ab crunches (8 different exercises of 25 reps each). I felt great afterwards. I now love incorporating cardio and some strength work in one session. Cutting down my cardio time to include strength as well is definitely something that I am looking to do in the very near future.
After getting ready at home it was time to hit the road. To save time I decided to take my breakfast to the library with me…
I made a lovely green smoothie which included spinach, 2 plums, an apple, water, rice milk, vanilla stevia, maca powder, chia seeds and lucuma powder…so good! Some Kashi Go Lean Crisp also made the perfect acompliment to the smoothie. This kept me full for hours!
Lunch was another packed affair in the form of a salad. It contained mixed salad leaves that had been massaged with lemon juice, half an avocado, tomatoes, carrots, red pepper and some Raw Health crackers. I also ate an unpictured pink lady apple, persimmon and plum…it was one of those snack happy kind of days!
In the afternoon my poor stomach was growling so I made it happy with some delicious banana soya milk and a chocolate chip cookie Lara bar…delicious! I’m still not sure which Lara bar flavour I love the most-perhaps all of them?
Once I got home after a day of thesis writing I was exhausted. Luckily I had been sure to leave some leftovers from Monday nights dinner, where would I be without leftovers?
This was the best meal ever!!! I had dug out some tempeh from the freezer (I had forgotten that it was in there) and marinated it in some sesame oil, soy sauce and ume plum vinegar and baked it in the oven. Also, I made some sweet potato chips dusted with black pepper and roasted some brussel sprouts in some coconut oil and maple syrup. To make the sauce I whipped up some peanut flour, sweet chilli sauce, water, salt and pepper and warmed it in the microwave so it goes all creamy and thick..love it!
I haven’t had much experience with tempeh before, but now I’m in love with it. It’s definitely going to be featuring on my shopping list in the future as it makes a great alternative to tofu.
And then there was dessert…
A chocolate chia seed pudding made with chia seeds, vegan choco-a-lot protein shake, water and honey with a warmed chopped banana and topped with more Kashi Go Lean. The perfect end to a great day of eats.
Just a quick mention about the Foodie Blog Swap. I know a lot of you enjoyed it last year and I was thinking of running it again. For those of you who are not in the know it involves the exchange of foodie gifts between a UK blogger and an American blogger. It worked really well last year and I just wanted to gauge how many of you would be interested in doing it again. Please let me know!
It what forms do you have your veggies on the go?
What is your favourite meal to pack to take to work with you?
What is your favourite way to cook your veggies-stir fry, steam or roasted?
Posted in Foodie Blog Swap, WIAW
56 Comments
Tags: chia seeds, foodie blog swap, Kashi, veggies, WIAW
Lentil and Vegetable Cottage Pie with Root Vegetable Mash
Feb 7
Posted by Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes
April actually marks a year since I subconsciously stopped eating meat without actually confirming this fact to myself. It wasn’t until my trip to Florence in July when my dietry needs were really tested and I had to announce to a waiter that I don’t eat meat and ocassionally eat fish.
Right now I can’t see myself eating meat in the forseeable future. However, I hate the restrictions of labels and will never admit that I may not eat meat in a few years time. I don’t know. I cannot see into the future and this point in time meat really isn’t floating my boat, but things change. I’m currently enjoying feasting on lots of fresh produce, grains and pulses…perfect!
Nevertheless, there are many different meat based foods which I miss and have found alternatives for such as cottage pie, perfect for our current freezing climate in the UK. A few weeks ago I posted a photo of my Lentil and Vegetable Cottage Pie with Root Vegetable Mash and since then many of you have asked for the recipe, so here it goes…
Ingredients (vegetarian, makes 2 large or 4 small servings)
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1 medium sized onion diced
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1 clove of garlic minced
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2 carrots finely diced
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1 leak diced
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1/2 cup of chestnut mushrooms sliced
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3 cups of pre-soaked green lentils
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vegetable stock
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2 tbsps of tomato paste
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400g of organic tinned tomatoes
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2 tsps of dried mixed herbs
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salt and black pepper
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1 large sweede
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5 pasnips
- soy milk
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low fat spread or a non dairy alternative
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canola oil
In a large pan boil the pre-soaked lentils in the vegetable stock. Add ebough stock to cover the lentils as you can always add more later if needed. Once cooked, drain and set aside.
In a casserole dish on a low heat warm through a little bit of canola oil (or your oil of choice) and add the onions, cooking until transluscent (5-6 mins). Add the leek, carrots and mushroom and stir from time to time. Once the vegetables are almost tender add the garlic, being mindful that it doesn’t burn.
Add the tomato paste and cook out for a few minutes before adding the tinned tomatoes. Stir in the dried mixed herbs and green lentils and season to taste. Place the lid on the casserole dish and allow the mixture to simmer for at least 15-20 minutes on a low heat until it has reduced, stir from time to time.
To make the root vegetable mash boil your swede and parsnips until cooked through. Drain and place in a bowl and mash with a potato masher. I put them in my food processor to get a more smooth and creamier texture. Add in the soy milk and low fat spread until a light fluffy texture is produced. Season to taste.
Next pour the cottage pie filling into a baking dish and flatten down with the back of a spoon. Add the root vegetable mash on top until the filling is completely covered.
Bake the pie for about 25 minutes at gas mark 6 or until the mash has turned golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
This was so comforting on a cold winter night and makes perfect leftovers as it also stores wrapped in the fridge and freezes well too.
Have you switched to a meat free diet? If so what is the one favourite meat based dish that you have adapted to suit your new diet preferences?
What is your favourite winter comfort food?
Posted in Recipes
12 Comments
Tags: comfort food, meat free alternatives, recipes, vegetarian