Pulp from Juicer | Crumble Recipe Idea

I use my Sage  Nutri-Juicer on a daily basis, but the one thing that I feel guilty about is throwing away the pulp left in it. I've tried lots of different things to try find a use to it and the best solution I have come up with is this healthy sugar-free crumble (I suppose you could add sugar if you didn't want to be healthy). 

Fruit

Now I don't profess to be a great cook, so please use your own existing fruit recipe for the crumble, but I peeled pears and apples before boiling them until they were soft then put them in a baking dish. In hindsight I would probably add cinnamon and cardamon to give it a little more flavour. 

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Pulp

I used the leftover pulp of a carrot to create the top part of the crumble mixing it with flaxseed, almonds and coconut flakes using my NutriBullet before putting it on top of the fruit. 

I put it in the oven for about 30 minutes when the base was nice and hard.

And voila! My healthy crumble. 

You can get all the products and ingredients here (it's cheaper to get a lot of health foods in amazon as opposed to in the supermarkets FYI).

For milling and blending: Nutribullet

For juicing: The Nutri-juicer plus, Sage by Heston Blumenthal

Flaxseed

Coconut flakes

Almonds

Let me know if you try it! 

Until next time... x

Motivational Monday | The Green Goddess Life & my food journey

I've been meaning to write this blog post for a while but I honestly have no idea where to begin, so I will adopt the cliche and start at the very beginning of my healthy food journey. 

18 MONTHS AGO

I was doing very little exercise and due to my hectic lifestyle I was eating ready meals and sandwiches, and not regularly either; it would get to midday and I'd realised I hadn't eaten, so I'd binge eat. I had a voice in my head that kept telling me to do something about it, continuously promising that I'd start being healthier tomorrow. The problem with tomorrow is that it always remains in the future. 

I'd like to point out that I was never fat, I know that, I just had unhealthy habits.

NEW YEAR NEW ME 

In January 2014, breast cancer awareness charity CoppaFeel! asked me if I would like to run the Bath Half marathon with them and so my healthy journey began. I joined the gym, went on a five day juice diet, and started running with the help of my Nike Running app, which appeals to my overly competitive nature. You can read more about that and other running tips here. The problem is, I didn't have time or the knowledge to eat clean consistently, I just did lots and lots of juice diets, and invested in a Nutribullet so I could create healthy juices for myself, usually for breakfast.

GREEN BEGINNINGS  

A few months later, in May 2014, I contacted the Green Goddess Life to sign up to her 6 month Green Goddess program. This is a personalised program where Mel, the beautiful face behind the Green Goddess, puts together a tailored program based on your own current nutritional issues and goals. 

At the end of our initial phone call my main goals and struggles were written down by Mel as follows: 

• Diet is usually fairly good, chaotic at the moment as has been moving house

• Bad habits are to eat chocolate and then skip a meal.

• On a good day will use nutribullet and make smoothie

• Lunch isn’t great as usually out and about so a sandwich or similar

• Dinner – fish and veg or chicken. Quite simple meals

• Chocolate is the guilty pleasure and the main culprit!

• Wouldn’t miss meat

• Exercise – half marathon coming up 2nd March so running on average 2 miles a morning – but would like to up this

• Needs to cut chocolate addiction!!!

Mel then put together a HUGE personalised plan for me, which was tailored to me according to my goals and areas of focus. 

CONCERNS 

I must confess, I was originally overwhelmed by Mel's program - there were so many foods I hadn't heard of, plus I really didn't have time to prepare so many recipes every day. I'd say my biggest concern was the how much all the healthy food would cost me. 

And actually it was hard to begin with - hard to stick to and hard to follow. My biggest addiction was chocolate. Mel would call me for her fortnightly call and I had to confess that I had failed to kick my chocolates addiction and I hadn't cooked as many meals as I had hoped. Mel was always supportive and told me not to consider myself on a diet, and told me to always forgive myself if I slipped up. At the time I worried I was letting her down by not sticking to her plan rigorously, however now I realise that it was part of my process - I was taking small baby steps.

Mel gave me over 100 recipe ideas and I also subscribe to her free weekly newsletter that has other recipes and tips on, and I started to make big batches of food when I found some time then I'd eat it over the course of a few days meaning I never felt like I was a slave to the kitchen.

THE END BUT NOT THE FINISH

Fast forward almost ten months and I can honestly say Mel has transformed my life. I don't know how I made the transformation because it was very gradual, but I don't eat sugar anymore, nevermind chocolate. I don't restrict my body from eating anything so I don't feel like I'm on a diet, my tastebuds have just changed and I don't crave processed sweet foods. There are so many delicious and healthy foods out there I didn't even know existed. I eat natural foods and am more creative with what I make. 

I'm still busy, and still don't make enough time to cook the delicious recipes I'd like to, but I have more discipline and I'll find a healthy alternative to a sandwich - couscous, quinoa, or soup. Instead of chocolate I make a delicious chocolate mousse using cacao and avocado in a Nurtibullet (I'll share the recipe soon) - it's one of Josie Gibson's recipes from her Slimmables website. 

Mel has helped me to overcome many of my eating fears and worries along the way. For example, I developed a worry about eating beige food - bread, pasta, etc. Because of it's colour I associated quinoa with being a heavy carb so would struggle to eat it without feeling it'd bulk me up - Mel patiently explained the nutritional value and contents of quinoa so I now understand it has a very high level of protein and fibre. 

If I drink over the weekend or eat too much of something I shouldn't, I forgive myself. It's not about fad diets and binge eating, it's about eating what makes you happy, and after a long journey of discovery, what makes my body happy is what my head craves, finally.

And the meals are now easy - I don't have to stick to rigorous recipes like I had to at the beginning. I understand the food and have a better understanding of how the flavours will work. It means that it's not as overwhelming as it was when I started my journey.

And you know, I eat out less because I'd prefer to eat a delicious homemade meal for lunch that I've prepared in bulk at the start of the week than eat an unsatisfactory and expensive convenience lunch. It actually means I save money in the long run! 

Mel has been so supportive and positive thorough out the process and I know that we'll be keeping in touch long after my program ends. She genuinely cares for her clients, and I would go as far to say she's become my friend. 

My body has slowly transformed too. I'm much more toned, but also my skin is more radiant. It means that I've had much more work as a model. Woo! But most importantly I feel much healthier and have more energy than I ever did.

The biggest tools that have helped me have been the following:

This juicer is my number one kitchen must have. I genuinely miss it when I have to be away from home for a few days. I love making juices, either in the morning or as a booster throughout the day. I'll share a few of my favourite juice combinations with you soon.

I still love making smoothies with my Nutribullet, but I actually use it more for creating sauces and healthy desserts now. 

Creating the base of my healthy crumble - recipe coming next week

Creating the base of my healthy crumble - recipe coming next week

If you guys feel you're stuck in a rut then I can't recommend speaking to Mel enough. Check out her website here and make sure you sign up to her free newsletter as she offers free recipes, advice, and motivational stories.

Until next time... x  

Source: http://www.thegreengoddesslife.com

Monday Motivation | The Bath Half Marathon & Running tips

Yesterday I ran the Bath Half Marathon in order the raise money and awareness for breast cancer awareness charity CoppaFeel! alongside a strong team of other Boobettes and Radio 1's Greg James. You can still donate here if you fancy it and can afford it, and if you can't then just check your boobs! 

I completed the run in 1 hour 41 minutes, beating last year's finishing time by 15 minutes. I also broke a few records along the way. I honestly don't know how I managed it as I haven't been able to run much for the last fortnight due to a hip injury and I twisted my knee on the 8th mile (I can't wait today). I can't tell you the feeling of pride and satisfaction I felt when I crossed the finishing line. It makes me want to sign up for more runs and challenges! 

Hopefully this post might help to inspire you to start running or to sign up to a 10k or half marathon (or even a marathon if you're brave!) - regardless of your running ability.

I started running again in January 2014 to train for last year's Bath Half. When I first began I really struggled to run more than 1 mile at a time, fast forward 15 months and I feel like a completely different person. I thought I would share my tips so if you are scared or feel overwhelmed to begin it might help you.

Nike Running app

I honestly would not be able to run without this app. Maybe it appeals to the competitive nature in me, but I get such a big sense of achievement through this app. It tracks your route, tells you how far you've run including your average pace per mile, and shows how many calories you've burnt. You can also add your friends and set each other challenges, or just see how far they've run per week. When I was running the half marathon yesterday the app would tell me when I had ran each mile and tell me my average pace - I kept myself motivated because I wanted to beat last year's time of 1 hour 54 minutes. 

Also a big tip is don't worry about the distance. I run for 15 minutes every single morning - it means those days that I can't be bothered I think to myself that in 15 minutes I'll be home with a sense of satisfaction. Even if you run for 10 minutes that's a mile, and it means you don't have to set your alarm too early either!

Good running music

I cannot run without music, I need the beat to keep me going and to help pace me. If you have Spotify there's loads of good workout playlists on there depending on what your preference it. I downloaded this album on iTunes - all the cheesy hits with a beat! 

Nice sportswear

They say you have to look the part to feel the part. There's so much nice sportswear these days there really is something for everyone - check out my previous Monday motivation posts for outfit ideas. I am currently loving these crop top and leggings from South Beach Swim, and I use my Reebok trainers for both the gym and running.

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Good Diet

Since working on my diet over the last nine months with nutritionalist Mel of the Green Goddess Life my whole world has changed. I have much more energy, and find I am much more fit - running is much much easier as a result. I'm going to do a separate blog post all about it very soon but in the meantime check out her website here for more info and free recipes!

I'd also recommend getting a NutriBullet and a Sage by Heston Blumenthal Nutri-Juicer as it helps to improve your fruit and veg intake - I couldn't live without either of mine!

A varied exercise regime

Lots of people want to get fit, and so start a full on fitness routine that is probably unsustainable or monotonous increasing the chances of you falling off the band wagon. I must admit I use to fall into this pattern a lot - I'd go through months of running every day then I would fall out of the routine and wouldn't do it for age. 

I've been working closely with Josie Gibson, who has a best-selling fitness DVD and weight-loss website Slimmables. Josie has taught me lots of different exercises and routines to keep me fit and in shape (they are on her site and DVD) - I no longer just go to the gym and run on a treadmill! 

I also signed up to the Nuffield gym, which has loads amazing classes on such as Spinning and Body Pump, so there's always something different to improve your fitness. I love the swimming pool there too, not to mention the steam room and sauna! 

I hope this blog post has been helpful and has encouraged you to dust off your running shoes. 

Until next time... x