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30+1 and other great things

What’s been happening around here lately… asides from my vegan adventures.

Let’s get over the negatives quickly… I haven’t been running. I only have myself to blame really as I pushed it at the Romsey Beer Race when realistically I should have sat it out.

My hamstring was just on the mend and then ehhh I pushed and it became worse. I’ve been seeing my physio (if you’re in need around the Portsmouth area he’s great) and it’s been helping.

It’s a tough one really as it’s the upper part of my hamstring (“high hamstring”) and this area notoriously doesn’t get much blood flow. Then coupled with sitting making things worse (hey day job..), means that healing is slow.

It’s hard to know how to help the situation. Obviously I’m not running. But I’m a big believer in strength training to help and doing strength work does improve blood flow to the area. It’s just finding that balance of pushing and protecting the hamstring. Gentle single leg glute bridges and being conscious of the muscle (i.e. making sure it’s the hamstring working and not my back or glute taking over). So that’s that right now.

But on to more positive things.

Podcasts

Oh my god, if you have not tried Sh**ged Married and Annoyed podcast from Chris and Rosie Ramsey you NEED to. It is so funny. Laugh out loud while walking Alfie kind of funny. I love their Geordie accents, how relatable they are and their humour. It’s my new favourite and I’m trying not to binge listen to them because I like having lots ready to go.

Birthday

Ahh another year has passed. It has FLOWN by. And a lot has happened in that time. I’ve been and done a number of cool things, eaten A LOT of cake and chicken wings (40 is my new PB), ran a lot (5 marathons!), got myself a cheeky 10k PB (who’d have thought eh!), and spent a lot of time with a guy who’s become somewhat important in my life…

So yeah while I might be older, I’m definitely not wiser but happier, and that’s something eh!

Birthday Cake

Kyle’s lovely sister, Lucy, is AMAZING at baking and for my birthday she made the most amazing cake.

It’s INCREDIBLE. She kept the design a secret from me and when I saw it I just could not believe the detail! So chuffed.

It’s a fruit cake which is cool and means it’ll last for a bit (ha..well we’ll see).

As it was Lucy’s birthday the day before mine we shared celebrating it at Kyle’s house with his family and had the most awesome spread of food. Chicken wings, ribs, spring rolls, crisps, chocolate, token salad.

It was fantastic and such a fab way for me to re-enter into the world of eating meat again.

I will say though that ordinarily I’ll be reducing my consumption of animal products but it was a celebration so I did eat quite a lot it must be said!

Presents

I got so many lovely gifts for my birthday, I was very (god I hate this word so much) blessed.

My lovely friend Louise even made me an amazing sign. She’s just started a new business of handmade crafted items (carvings in glass and wood) and her gift to me was just perfect.

Check out her Facebook page here if you’re interested.

Merchant House

On Thursday night my work team and I went out for a meal and drinks at The Merchant House in Southsea.

I’ve seen so many good things on their Instagram and it didn’t disappoint!

I went for the pork belly burger (with maple bacon and cheese) with burnt end loaded fries and deep fried vegan cauliflower bites.

Their vegan menu actually looked really good! I was tempted to try their seitan burger but in the end was too tempted by pork belly. It just means I need to go back!

It was a really fun evening. I really like the people I work with, the food was fantastic and I love Southsea. It feels like a mini Brighton 🙂

So despite not running, there’s still a lot of good stuff happening round here!

What kind of burger is your favourite?

What’s your favourite food at a buffet?

Do you go out with your work colleagues?

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9 Ways to Make Your Home More Zen

I have a contributed post today talking about making your home more “zen”. I’m all about de-stressing your life and making your house a happy, comfortable environment so I found this really interesting.

Whether we’re out running or just trying to navigate the many responsibilities that life throws our way, from time to time it can seem like existence is a little frantic. If we don’t take steps to protect ourselves, then there’s a chance that we get caught up in the rush. Sometimes this happens without us even quite realising it — only after some time has passed do we notice that we’ve lost touch with ourselves a little. As such, it’s important that we’re taking the time to slow down a little. One of the best ways to do is to create a zen, relaxed environment in our homes. When life seems to get a little too much, we’ll have the perfect little hideaway in which to retreat.

But how do you do this? We take a look at some tried and tested methods below.

Source: Pexels.com

Light and Airy

It’s difficult to get into that calm and serene state of mind when you’re sitting in a dark and dingy home. If that describes your current space, then take a look at opening up your property a little bit. If you have sunlight pouring into your home, and there’s plenty of space, then you’ll find it much easier to enter that elevated state. Don’t worry if you think your home is dark and always will be — there are plenty of ways to let more natural light flow in. To get more space, take a look at low-lying furniture. It’ll make the ceilings feel higher than they are. Pulling the couch and other furniture away from the wall slightly can also create the illusion of added space.

Feelings of Joy

Zen life isn’t just about simplicity, it’s about joy. Whatever makes you happy is specific to you, and it’s your place, so why not fill your home with things that’ll make you smile? On the other end of the spectrum, you should also avoid having too many items that will, for whatever reason, bring you down. If your cables or that ugly piece of furniture creates a small feeling of anger/sadness/misery every time you take a glance, then conceal them or get rid altogether.

Feeding the Senses

We spend so much of our time thinking about what we can see, but we should also focus on what we can feel. There are plenty of things that can influence us “under the surface,” and put us into a relaxing and chilled state of mind. The two obvious sources are incense and scent diffusers. Adding those natural fragrances will massively boost the ambience of your place, and simply make it a more enjoyable place to be. It’s always worth keeping in mind that we perceive much more than we think — it’s about more than your eyes.

The Purge

Even if you took all the other advice in this blog, you would still struggle to create a relaxing, zen home if you hadn’t taken the most crucial piece of advice: getting rid of the junk that you don’t need. Having too much clutter around us is a drain on our mind and spirit; our items begin to feel like a burden. As such, it’s recommended that you follow the top tips to declutter your house. If you’ve lived in your home for a few years, then it’s likely that you have plenty of items that you don’t want, need, or even realise that you still have. By taking the time to get rid of them, you’ll be reclaiming your home, and in the process making it much more relaxing.

Use Earthy Colours and Materials

When we think about the zen way of life, we tend to think about nature, purity, simplicity, and harmony. In your home, you can bring these characteristics to the fore by using earthy colours and materials. You’ll feel much more in tune with the outside world if you’ve incorporated wooden and stone touches throughout your home, for instance. You’ll also want to look at other ways to bring the outdoors in, too. For example, you can add plants — it’s hard not to feel happy when you’re surrounded by plants (they actually released mood-boosting chemicals into our mind) — or souvenirs from your travels, such as jars of sand, pinecones, and other beautiful outdoor, all natural decorations.

Source: Pexels.com

Deep Comfort

People often spend too much time on making sure that their home looks the part, and not enough on making sure that it’s comfortable. It’s hard to feel deeply at ease if you’re not physically comfortable. So moving forward, take a look at upping your home’s comfort levels. You can begin in the most obvious rooms, your living room and bedroom; your couch and bed should invite you to sink in deeply — you can add throws and other comforters to make them even more relaxing, too. You can take your home’s comfort levels to new heights by adding things like a cosy reading corner or — the best option out there — an outdoor hammock. There are few things in life more enjoyable than swinging in a hammock on a cool summer’s day.

Remove the Disturbances

While there are plenty of things that’ll nudge your home’s zen factor in the right direction, it’s likely that you have a few things that are also bringing it down. As such, you’ll want to take time some to remove the disturbances that are removing the flow of your home. Just as you added joy, you’ll need to remove the less than positive aspects, or, rather, hide them away. For example, you could put your television — which is great when it’s in use, ugly when it’s not — inside a cabinet, or hide your laundry basket so it’s not on display.

Minimalist Style

Now that you have a zen home, take a look at maintaining a minimalist approach. The temptation to add more items or to let things in your home get out of hand sometimes feels unavoidable, but this isn’t the case! You just need to stay on top of things.

Anna here again… personally I LOVE a good de-clutter and sort out. Weirdly something I really enjoy. But don’t just chuck stuff, give it to charity or re-gift/re-home elsewhere 🙂

How do you make your home comfortable?

What’s your favourite room in the house?

Do you often do a good sort out?

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Two week vegan challenge – done!

So I completed my two week vegan challenge.

I didn’t eat meat, fish, cheese, milk, chocolate, basically anything that contained animal products. This also included milk powder, honey, gelatine… oh yes, I went all in (or all out…). I wanted to do a recap post of how I found things, things I liked, didn’t like and what happens now.

Let’s start with the bad stuff.

Bloating

I did not get on with chickpea or lentils. This is possibly because I went from full meat-eater to full legume consumer in a short amount of time. On my first few days I ate a lot of chickpeas. I saw them as a fantastic source of protein and something I could use to basically replace meat, cheese and eggs.

What I didn’t see coming (foolishly) is how that would hit my digestion. Within hours of eating I was VERY bloated. To the point that I went to bed looking pregnant. I’m lucky that I have a boyfriend that is apparently blind because although he couldn’t tell (pffft mere mortal man that he is) I could 100% tell and it made me feel quite low in self-esteem (I’m only human).

Vanity aside, I felt incredibly uncomfortable. My diet was never bad beforehand. I ate a lot of fruit and veg so adding more fibre-rich foods just overloaded my system. Getting real here, before the vegan diet I had a very nice regular toilet routine and rarely had any issues. Call me perfect poo Anna 😉 But add in a whole bunch more fibre and gaseous legumes and everything went out of whack. My system just was not happy and suddenly I felt very, well, backed up. I felt uncomfortably full all the time.

Potentially Expensive

So quickly chickpeas and lentils were removed. This massively improved things, but it did cause me a somewhat annoying issue of having to buy more expensive food items to fill in the chickpea holes.

I bought Linda McCartney sausages (GAME CHANGINGLY GOOD), kebab-style fake meat and relied more heavily on tofu.

Now I know that protein isn’t the be all and end all and we don’t need as much as protein powder companies and gym buffs would have us believe, but personally for me I work better on a higher protein lower carb diet. This new vegan diet however was a lot higher in carbs and a lot lower in protein. It was hard to find protein to slot in. But don’t get me wrong, meat is expensive too. I guess my issue is more than I couldn’t just throw cheese on things or have eggs – both are very cheap forms of protein/fat.

A Bit Boring

I found tofu very dull. I mean this is highly likely to be an experience thing and over time I’d get better, but honest to god it was dull. Not matter how many spices I threw on it, it just tasted very boring and the texture was a bit ehhhh.

I’m not a huge bread, pasta or rice eater so this left a lot of salads to eat at lunch…and salads that didn’t contain a huge amount in my eyes. Or soup. I got to eat a lot of soup as an easy filling lunch. Again this is down to experience but to make something I was going to enjoy required a lot of effort and thinking.

As a non-vegan I can whip up very boring and fairly bland meals but still really enjoy them – scrambled egg… chicken… tuna salads… I can eat this stuff for days. But without those options I was left a bit lost. I used butternut squash and sweet potato A LOT.

Hard Work

Now I know this would get better with experience and learning but for my two week stint, eating was hard work. Checking ingredients for anything non-vegan. Trying to find items that would be filling and not too fibre rich and not too expensive to add to meals. It just made eating difficult. It was a pain each night to think of exciting meals that would fill me up and not bloat me.

One of my favourite go-to meals was a sausage sandwich. But I missed eating lots of vegetables and not worrying about their compounding affect on my digestion.

Vegan Protein Powder

I tried two types. One upset my tummy (I tried Form Protein three times, and it just sat in my stomach like a rock) and one just tasted meh (MyProtein Vegan blend). It made eating porridge a bit sad for me.

Now onto the good…

Oat Milk

This is INCREDIBLE in tea. It really has changed my ways for good. I love it! It just upgrades a cup of tea. I probably won’t go out of my way in cafes to ask for it but if I notice they have it I’ll be getting it.

Linda McCartney Sausages

These are in my life for good. I used to eat a lot of the Heck chicken sausages but I’ll be replacing them with these one now. So tasty, so much flavour and FULL of protein.

Nutritional Yeast

Man this stuff is good. I was sprinkling it on everything. A small amount contains so much protein and B12 and FLAVOUR. Cheesy savoury goodness.

Vegan Meals Out

I enjoyed trying pulled BBQ jackfruit and I loved the seitan “chicken wings” I had at the Rockstone pub in Southampton.

Omg so good! Choosing something off a vegan menus is something I would NEVER have done before as I was worried it wouldn’t fill me up or be that exciting but after three different vegan meals out I can say that wasn’t the case.

And vegan cake is damn good too!

The only thing is, vegan cheese is not good. I’m sorry but it isn’t. I’m a blue cheese kind of girl. Strong mature cheddar. Goat’s cheese. Vegan cheese was literally fake cheese. Horrible. It didn’t taste of anything and it made me feel slightly queasy when I thought too hard about what it contained (you could argue that cheese made from animals should make me feel the same but as I don’t see eating animals as an issue this argument doesn’t work on me).

I Didn’t Miss Meat that Much

This was an eye opener. I didn’t crave meat. I didn’t miss it. The only times I missed it was really when I couldn’t think of something to throw together. Ordinarily I’d be throwing chicken into something and boom there’s a meal. But it was more the convenience of it than the taste (don’t get me wrong though, I bloody love chicken). What this has shown me is I can think outside the box and not just be lazy and reach for meat. I can eat a non-meat meal and still be full.

It has shown me though how much I love cheese. That I won’t be reducing! But meat, definitely. I can see several days in the week being meat-free. Chicken wings aren’t going anywhere though – if they’re on the menu, it’s likely I’ll be ordering them.

Overall, the two weeks taught me a lot. It helped me become more conscious of my animal product consumption. Showed me vegan food isn’t terrible (chickpeas aside) and helped me assess my diet going forward to a be a bit more environmentally conscious.

I raised a little bit of money for a local animal shelter too, so that’s bonus! (HERE’S the link if you’d like to sponsor!)

Have you ever changed your diet in a big way before?

Do you eat a lot of meat?

Do you eat a lot of cheese?

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Keto 101: Everything You Need to Know

I have a contributed post today talking about the keto diet. I rarely change the way I eat (says the girl who’s currently on a two week vegan challenge…) but I love reading about different diets. I find it fascinating when people take such drastic approaches, such as cutting out groups of food or having a different perspective on the way they eat. And what works for one might not work for another. But it’s interesting anyway! So here we go…

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, chances are you’ll know about keto diets or at least have heard of them. They’ve taken the world by storm with their ability to burn fat without being hungry or feeling deprived like typical low fat diets, eating while losing weight sounds too good to be true but it’s easy to wrap your head around once you know the science. Here’s everything you need to know!

What are keto diets and ketosis?

Keto plans work by reducing your carbohydrate intake. With limited carbohydrates, your body switches to burning its own fat supplies for fuel- meaning your weight loss efforts are increased. This process puts your body in a metabolic state called ‘ketosis’, you can check if you’re in ketosis using simple urine analysis strips available at any chemist.

How does it work?

Imagine your body like a fridge freezer. Your carbohydrates are like the fridge section, easily accessible and when they’re available they will be your body’s first choice for fuel. Your fat supplies are like the freezer- the backup supply. Once the ‘fridge’ is empty, the body will utilise what’s in the ‘freezer’. It breaks down this stored fat and uses it for energy, including energy need at rest such as digestion, brain activity and more. This makes it much easier to lose weight compared to a traditional low fat low calorie diet.

Is it safe?

Ketosis is a perfectly safe and natural process for your body, as humans it’s exactly how we were designed. We store fat to be used as fuel so we have energy even when food supplies are scarce. Ketosis can sometimes be confused with ‘ketoacidosis’ which is a serious complication which people with diabetes can get. But despite sounding similar, they’re completely different things. The process of your body switching from carbohydrates to its own fat supplies for fuel can be a little gruelling, many people feel a little dizzy, tired and headachy for a couple of days. However, once the body is fat adapted and reaches ketosis these side effects disappear and you feel much like your normal self again.

How easy are keto plans to follow?

Keto plans tend to be very easy to follow. While you’re cutting out much of an entire food group (carbs) you have plenty of fat, dairy and protein options which are filling, satisfying and taste great. While it’s not an invitation to eat to excess, you don’t have to count calories and can eat until your satiated meaning there’s less temptation to cheat.

One of the symptoms of ketosis is reduced hunger, this is because without carbohydrates there are no spikes in your blood sugar. It’s these spikes that cause cravings and hunger pangs, so without them you’ll notice a definite improvement in your appetite if you’re prone to overeating. Because there are so many available things you can eat and so many great recipe ideas online, you shouldn’t get bored.

On top of this, it’s the kind of diet where you can still go out and eat and enjoy food with friends. Invited to a barbecue? Tuck into the meat and enjoy with some salad and just avoid the bread (be sure to avoid sugary marinades). If you go to a restaurant, ask for your side of potatoes to be replaced with some low carb veggies like broccoli- just be wary of added sugars or carbs in gravy or sauces. Restaurants are very accommodating and can remove these, or at least let you know what’s in them if you ask.

Can vegans follow a keto plan?

Following a keto plan as a vegan is certainly possible. There are more challenges here, since many keto followers do tend to use meat, fish eggs and dairy as their primary food sources. However you do still have options- coconut products, oils, nuts and seeds, non starchy vegetables, vegan protein sources like tofu and tempeh and vegan ‘full fat dairy’ such as cashew butter and vegan cream cheese are all on the menu. The best thing you can do is log your macros on a site like MyFitnessPal, make sure you’re keeping your carbs low enough while hitting all of your nutritional needs.

Are there any side effects

There are a few side effects of ketosis. One thing that just about everyone will experience is changed in their breath, that’s because when the body burns fat it created ketones and some of the byproducts aren’t used by the body. They’re excreted through urine and the breath, a lot of people report a ‘fruity’ smell or an acetone like smell like nail polish remover. You can relieve this symptom by chewing parsley or chewing sugar free gum. Feeling cold is another common side effect. For the most part, you won’t feel all that different when you’re in ketosis and for the majority of people, the minor side effects are worth it for the ability to lose weight more effectively.

Can I still exercise?

Yes, you can still exercise when you’re in ketosis and you should- exercise is useful for everyone. However there’s one main thing to bear in mind, and that’s the body can take a little longer to fuel your body with energy from fat. There’s a reason why athletes ‘carb load’ before a workout, it provides instant and accessible fuel for energy. When you’re in ketosis, you don’t have that instantly accessible fuel. For this reason, you might feel a little light headed if you suddenly start exercising intensely. Warm up first, and stick with moderate paced activities rather than intense exercise. Swimming, cycling, even jogging is still fine, but sprinting, hiit workouts and other very intense exercise might not be the best choice in keto.

Resistance training is a great choice when you’re following a keto plan, try out the weights machines in the gym or use Resistance bands by OriGym at home to tone up your muscles. With so much protein in your diet you’ll recover quickly, and added muscle will boost your metabolism and burn even more fat.

Have you ever followed a keto plan?

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Going vegan

If you’ve read my blog for a while, or know me even a little bit, you’ll know when it comes to food that I’m a) very greedy and b) a big meat lover.

Chicken wings, ribs, bacon, sausages, gammon, roast dinners, BBQs… I love it all. I openly admit that I eat a lot of meat. I have quite a bit appetite and am definitely more of a protein fan than a carb fan. That said, it’ll be a rare occasion that I’ll say no to cake. God I love cake.

Eating 40 chicken wings…

I know that eating a lot of meat is not great for the environment. I don’t live in a box. I know this. As humans, we eat too much of it. The way we farm animals isn’t great either. Animals are not treated with the respect they deserve. Though I won’t go as far to say we shouldn’t use animals as food, I do believe we could be doing it better for the animals’ welfare. And I’m guilty of putting my head in the sand on this front. Sure I’ll try and find free range products where I can but sometimes I’ll reach for whatever’s cheapest or easiest, and I eat out in restaurants a lot and many of them I’m sure are not ethically minded (Nando’s I’m looking at you).

So I decided to see what it would be like to be vegan for two weeks. It would be a (big) challenge to myself and also I could raise some money for a local animal shelter (the Stubbington Ark) –> please sponsor me if you can HERE. Yes of course I could do this in stages and gradually reduce meat and dairy etc. but I want this to be a shock to the system. Force me out of my comfort zone and hit my hard. I need a big shake up. Something to get me thinking, researching, planning and reinvigorating my love of cooking.

Supermarket haul

I also want to be see if I can take anything away from my two weeks. Make any long term changes. Changes I wouldn’t normally try because I’ve become so dependent on animal products. But now I can really test things out and force myself out of my usual routine and habits and open my mind to other options.

I knew going into this I had to be prepared. I researched what I could and couldn’t eat. I found recipes, created myself a Pinterest Board (check it out HERE), planned my meals for the first week and meal prepped like a boss on Sunday. If I was going to succeed and do this properly I needed to have a plan.I planned out the meals I’d be eating for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next five days.

Breakfast was easy. I always eat porridge with almond milk. I currently add whey protein to it but I obviously wouldn’t be able to use that anymore. So I did a little bit of research online and decided that though I’d heard amazing things about the Awesome Supplements Vegan Protein it was just too expensive. Spending £26 (plus postage) for a tub was a lot. I’m used to spending about £12. So instead I went with the MyProtein Vegan Protein Powder. I’m happy to give it a go for the cost – I hate food waste so I’ll be using it up even if it’s not that great, don’t worry! Who knows, I might even change my whey protein habits.

Lunches I meal prepped on Sunday… lentil, chickpea curries and a beetroot and roast vegetable salad.

Dinners this week are actually easy as we went to the cinema on Tuesday night (we always get a Subway to eat during the trailers and they have vegan options now) and Wednesday we’re out and I’ve found a vegan-friendly restaurant.

I’ll do a post in more detail of how I’ve found it and the things I’ve been eating soon…

Again, HERE’s my sponsor page for a very good cause.

Are you a vegan/vegetarian?

Have you ever gone vegan?

Would you struggle?