Easter Detox Guide

Hello everyone :) I've decided to write another fitness and health post for two reasons - firstly because I had a really great response to my 'what I do at the gym' post and secondly because I need to take my mind off all that yummy Easter choccie and get my mind on to fit and healthy thoughts for Summer - writing something on the subject for you helps me too! I'm calling this an after Easter detox post but really, it’s not a detox, it’s a way of life. After my fitness posts, I got a lot of emails from people asking me what I eat so I think this is an ideal time to show you/talk you through what meals I eat.  Obviously some of you really will not care what I eat at all, but I just hope that this helps some of you out. I hope that this will provide you with some healthy inspiration. I'm not saying I'm an expert but this stuff has really helped me so let's hope it helps at least one other person out too. So without further ado, let’s kiss goodbye to the chocolate eggs and say hello to our hot summer bodies… 

My fridge ^

Disclaimer: I am not saying this is correct, this is just what I do and how I eat and it's worked for me.

The body I put food into 

For me, at present my body is far from perfect, I have set myself a few goals and I can't wait to get back into my fitness and healthy eating, Easter really has knocked me off track, but above is where I want to get back to - sorry to those of you who have read my other fitness posts and therefore have already seen these photos!

Breakfast:

Breakfast sets your body up for the rest of the day, you've probably heard this a lot but it's true...after eating a good breakfast I always feel more energised, particularly when i'm commuting from Leeds to London on long days! So much research has shown that people who eat breakfast are generally slimmer and there is evidence that there’s a correlation between over-weight people and people who skip breakfast. NEVER skip breakfast. I will never skip breakfast, it’s my fuel throughout the day. I eat such a big breakfast that I rarely have a big lunch because I’m so full!

So here is what I generally have for breakfast:

-       Cereals with semi-skimmed milk (try soya if you want it to be even healthier). I don’t have unhealthy cereals, I usually stick to Weetabix or something similar and healthy. I love museli too. Make sure which ever cereal you choose that it is one that is low in sugar - many are sugar loaded so beware.

-       Yoghurts – I always have a yoghurt in the morning, it’s a bit of a routine. I generally just eat Onken or Muller light, anything healthy. I tried this Total yoghurt for the first time last week and HAD to take a photo of it because it tastes so dreamy, I need an endless supply. Seriously amazing and so good for you so I think I'll switch to this in the future. The raspberry and pomegranate just gives it an extra kick. Greek yoghurt is known as a bit of a super food!

-       Porridge – I have porridge pretty much every morning as my cereal, I put a drop of honey on top and a few walnuts (walnuts are full of fibre, protein and essential fats so it doesn’t harm to just put a few on the top) I also add a generous helping of fruit to my porridge, usually chopped banana but when I can afford to (student problems) strawberries, raspberries and blueberries too.

-       Toast – I have toast every morning too, two slices or four slices if I don’t have time for cereal too.  I always have wholemeal bread, as I mentioned in my after Christmas detox post, I cut out all white things from my diet and I’ve seen such a change in my body – it’s really helped me to become more toned. I generally get the Hovis seeded loaf as seeds are really good for you but I can't stand them alone so having them in my bread means that I'm eating them without realising. A common misconception is that you should avoid carbs altogether when dieting but as long as you stick to wholegrains and good carbs like brown rice and sweet potato etc you'll be fine...moderation is key. 

-       Eggs – I love eggs, they can be very beneficial for you but you’re not meant to have them too many times a week because the yolks are high in colestoral.  I love poached eggs, scrambled eggs and dippy eggs (but never fried!) so I eat them 2 - 3 times a week.

-       Fruit juice – I try to have either fresh orange juice, real orange juice, not the fresh orange from bottles as I just don’t trust it. If you buy fresh orange, make sure it isn’t from concentrate! My Mum bought me this Kenwood juicer which makes fresh orange juice so fresh and easy, this one is only £9.99 if you're just wanting something cheaper. It's best to consume fruit juice on a morning because it has a tendency to spike your sugar levels which is something you don't want to do too late in the afternoon or evening when your metabolism is slowing down. 

   

    Em’s super smoothie - I don’t use any recipes when making smoothies, I make my own super smoothie, I’m not saying this is correct but I think it tastes delicious and surely it’s super good for you because it’s full of goodness! I put one banana, half a tub of strawberries, half a tub of raspberries, a handful of blueberries, a bit of Greek yoghurt, a little bit of natural honey, a spoonful of matcha tea, a spoonful of spirulina (Victoria's secret models swear by it) and a big handful of spinach, I blend it all up and gulp it down. Some people's stomachs don't react to fruit well because of the high fructose content and acidity so try it out first and see what works for you but this is a serious health shot (well, it works for me anyway).

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      Matcha tea – I’ve been drinking loads of matcha tea ever since discovering the Tea Pigs version in the special healthy LatestInBeauty box.  One cup of matcha is apparently the same as 15 cups of normal green tea?! Green tea/matcha just flushes everything out, it's very good for you as everyone knows plus its full of antioxidants and it will keep you going throughout the day. You can buy the more expensive tea pigs version here but I personally bought this cheaper version from Selfridges! I can't find it anywhere else, it's expensive but so worth it.

So to summarise, I’ll usually either have cereals, toast, a yoghurt and a smoothie or my eggs and some toast and a smoothie to fuel me up for the day ahead.

Lunch:

As mentioned, I’m quite bad at lunch, I fill myself up so much for breakfast that I never really have room for lunch so I tend to eat it quite late, I’d say my standard lunch time is around 2pm rather than what we had at school, 12pm. Usually though because I’m always running around, I’ll just fit it in when I can! So here’s what I eat for lunch generally!

-       Poached eggs – If I haven’t had time for eggs in the morning, I’ll sometimes make myself poached eggs on brown toast for my lunch or some dippy eggs depending on what mood I’m in! Eggs are good for you and they’re so so easy to make and quick too! I tend to have some tinned tomatoes with them to make it more filling and a bit brighter.

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     A healthy sandwich – If I’m out and about I’ll grab a sandwich, I usually either get a tuna sandwich (generally quite low in fat), a low fat chicken salad sandwich or a duck wrap (healthy duck, not fatty duck). I do like my crisps so I usually grab some Pop Chips  (my favourite crisps ever) with my meal otherwise it just isn’t filling enough for me, then a banana afterwards.

-       Pasta – I do generally have pasta for dinner but I often have it for lunch too, (I'm obsessed with pasta) with tuna and cheese, a really easy meal, obviously don’t go too heavy on the cheese. I have recently switched to wholemeal pasta too to make it healthier, I often add some spinach into the pan too when having pasta so that I’m always eating lots of spinach. Spinach is loaded with calcium for healthy bones and I read that it's a great food for hair growth too. Again, I have found switching the white starchy pasta for wholemeal has really helped me gain a flatter stomach and reduced bloating.

-       Jacket potato – (or a sweet potato if you want to make it super healthy).  These are a real staple for me and I like to have them with either cottage cheese or tuna for my lunch (or dinner).  I love crispy jacket potatoes, I just wish they didn’t take so long to cook so I could eat them more often.

Dinner:

I love dinner, I love going out for dinner and I love eating. Here’s some of the things I eat for dinner:

-       Chicken Fajitas – Oh gosh I love fajitas, you can make them super healthy if you grill them in the oven too rather than frying, and obviously don’t add loads of guacamole and sour cream as they’re fatty extras. I pile them high with veg, I add peppers, mushrooms, onions and then cook them in the oven.

-       Em’s Chicken Burger – probably my speciality.  I buy some sachets of breadcrumbs from the supermarket, put some chicken breasts into an oven proof plastic bag (you can buy these at supermarkets) and shake all the breadcrumbs over them (you will need a bit of oil to stick).  I then cook them in the oven (opening the bag for the last 10 mins so they crisp up) then make them into healthy chicken burgers, add some tomatoes and lettuce, with sweet potato fries and a healthy brown bread roll. Perfection. Cooking the chicken in a bag makes it taste so succulent. You can make the chicken into healthy chicken nuggets too if you cut the chicken up before cooking then dunk them into some home-made chunky salsa sauce. They shouldn't be healthy but they are. I'm craving them now.

-       Pasta – I always eat pasta for dinner, I always make sure it’s wholemeal pasta and I generally just chuck loads of veg and pasta into a pan and gobble it down. Pasta is fine as long as you eat wholemeal pasta if you eat as much as me, I used to live on white pasta. There are some great one pot pasta recipes online and I'm forever pinning them on my Pinterest.

-       Chicken oven bake – My Mum gave me some really good recipes for simple, succulent tray bakes. I just put chicken into a baking tray with loads of veg and potatoes, drizzle with oil and then cook, this tastes so delicious and only takes about 30 minutes, you can add some sweet chilli sauce or any kind of seasoning you like to get more flavour. 

-       Chicken curry – I like making healthy chicken baltis, yes you can get healthy curries! I get a sachet of balti sauce from the supermarket and I put my chicken, green peppers, spinach and tinned tomatoes into an oven bag and then leave to cook for 50 minutes. Serve it with some brown rice and hey presto, the most beautiful and nutritious curry.

-       Steak – I love steak and if I could afford it, I’d eat fillet steak every night. I have steak with crunchy sweet potato fries and asparagus when I can afford to!

    Noodles - I often make myself a healthy stir fry with lots of veg and sesame seeds! You can't beat a simple stir fry.

   Chicken and Chorizo salad - Whilst chorizo isn't too healthy, I really enjoy making chicken and chorizo salad with lots of spinach! It's my Mum's speciality. 

Snacks:

I love snacking. I really do. Snacking is my weakness, so here are a few healthier things that I snack on…

-Popchips – healthier crisps

-Snackajacks – healthy rice cakes

- Cereals, I often just grab a bowl of cereal if I’m hungry

- Yoghurt, I love yoghurt as a snack and sometimes add fruit to it as well

- Fruit! I make myself a big bowl of fruit to snack on, bananas always fill me up too.

- I love cottage cheese and I have often pile loads onto crackers and then eat away

A recap of easy healthy eating tips:

-Get rid of whites, try switch everything to wholemeal, it’s made such a difference for me. Brown pasta, brown bread and brown rice!

- Water water water! Hydrate yourself, you lose more weight if you drink water as it flushes out the badness, also it’s great for your skin and hair.

- Never skip breakfast – you wouldn’t run a car without petrol would you?

- Exercise is your friend – It makes you look and feel great so why wouldn’t you want to exercise? 

- It's so easy to make sure you only use low-fat butter, low-fat milk and get rid of fizzy drinks! Little lifestyle changes like that really do help. I can't remember the last time I had a fizzy drink and I always have low-fat butter and semi-skimmed milk.

- There are no instant body fixes, everyone has a different vision of what their perfect body/healthy life looks like but please don't fall for these liquid diets and diets in general which promise to make you lose weight, it isn't natural to lose so much weight so quickly and these diets which tell you to starve yourself make me so angry, no-one should starve themselves, food is good for you and your body needs it.

Trust me, once you start eating healthy and exercising, you’ll notice that you become addicted, you'll feel bad for not exercising and not eating healthily, it becomes a way of life and so it should be, why wouldn't you want to be healthy and well? Obviously you're allowed a cheat day, I always eat chocolate and I'd say I have a take away at least once a month - if you don't have a cheat day your body will constantly be craving all the bad things, relax and have a little bit of what you love as a treat to yourself. 

I really hope that has helped get you back in healthy mode after Easter! I know that I’m starting healthiness again as of today. 

If you missed my other fitness and health posts, you can find them here:

- Detox tips post

- What I do at the gym

What do you like to eat to keep you feeling healthy? What's your favourite superfood? Are you trying to be healthy after a crazy Easter? Can you recommend any recipes for me to try?

Lots of love, Em x

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