Healthy Habits | Lifestyle

Guys, I have got a new job, but I actually work a lot from home, which of course is fab, I mean no awful commute into London and I get to wear face masks whilst I write emails.However as soon as I started my new job, I knew I had to quickly sort out my eating habits because I love to snack and if I am in a house full of temptation then I'm just gonna get a bit fat. So here are some tips for keeping healthy when working from home...

Drink water

I mean, obviously!! But in all honesty I think water is a really big thing to me, I tend to snack absentmindedly when the reality is I don't actually need something to eat, it's actually thirst! I also like to drink lots of water because I feel like it flushes all the toxins out of my body, which I'm not sure if that's actually true, but it makes me feel better. 

Plan your meals

I know what I am having for lunch and dinner each day! I frickin' love a routine so if I know I have a chicken soup for lunch and fish for dinner. Also it makes me excited because I know what's coming up. When you haven't done any planning you run the risk of eating something that is quick or easy like a take away or just some mircowave meal 

Snack wise

Apples...the magic of apples! I have been saying this for years, I love an apple! They are refreshing and surprisingly filling because they are such high in fibre so it's just like the perfect little snack! 

Break bad habits

Now is the time to really reduce the amount of processed food in your body! I don't mean cut it out completely but just reduce it, you'll notice the difference so quickly. Another thing to consider is the amount of food and I'm not talking calories, just sheer volume. The thing is you have to remember that working from home you are doing far less activity than what you would usually do, so you don't actually need to eat the same amount as you did previously. I think it's all about being mindful! 

Allow a little treat

There is no way I can give up chocolate, it isn't gonna happen because I don't want to, I love the stuff! This being said I do reduce the amount of chocolate I eat in a week! When I was in Florence I got into a really bad habit of eating quite a lot of chocolate a day, I kind of had to wean myself off it a bit. Some weekends I have noodles from my local noodle bar and share a side or whatever but I'm not gonna demonise myself for this because the majority of my week has been good! 

What are your healthy habits?

Pana Chocolate | Food

Who doesn't love chocolate? These pieces just look so yummy don't they.  

Pana Chocolate* is an Australian chocolate brand, but the thing that really makes them stand out is the quality of the ingredients in this chocolate. Pana Chocolate only use 100% raw organic ingredients, there is no diary, no soy, it's gluten free and no refined sugar. This really is a "super" brand type of chocolate. As you may know, this year I have changed my lifestyle completely which means I am trying to eat as clean as possible and have a great exercise routine. But let's face it I'm always going to love chocolate but it is full of absolute rubbish. 

I love the fact Pana Chocolate caters for the Healthy Living market and if it tastes just as good as regular chocolate then why wouldn't you choose this? Pana Chocolate really care about the Earth and people, all of the ingredients used are 100% organic and ethically sourced but also, the packaging that is used it made from recycled materials with biodegradable foils wrapped around the chocolate itself. I can't get over how wonderful this brand is, it's so refreshing to see a brand care about their products so much down to every fine detail. They even print cute messages on the chocolate such as "Love Your Insides" and "Love The Earth", now that's the kind of positivity I like to see. 

Moving onto the actual taste of the product...oh my god. It's a much softer, more crumbly texture than the other chocolates available, it's an almost velvety smooth texture in the mouth. I received 4 different varieties, Orange, Raw Cacao, Eighty and Cinnamon, if you aren't a fan of dark chocolate then this may not be the one for you. I love dark chocolate but only in small doses, so for me this really is a treat. Just one little square is packed with flavour you really wouldn't be able to eat the entire bar. I must say that the Orange Chocolate one is easily my fave, I love all things orangey and orange chocolate even more. My brother tried a little piece and he said it reminded him of Christmas, which was a sweet thought.

They do a variety of other flavours, including Mint and Coconut & Goji Berry which I think is really fantastic. The only thing that upsets me is that it is very hard to get online, if you go direct to their site the don't ship internationally. However I have done a bit of googling and you can buy it on As Nature Intended for £2.95 for 45g. It could be argued that it's a little more expensive than other chocolate, but for me it's 100% worth it because it is so good for the environment and for your body. 

What are your healthy treats?



*PR sample however all views are my own 

Healthy Snacks | Lifestyle

I'm trying to be a little better with my eating habits lately, it's very easy to fall into a rut and my biggest problem is snacking. Oh boy do I love to snack and because my job isn't very active at all, you know it cannot end well. 

It's really hard to know what snacks you should be eating, sometimes a handful of nuts (oh my) just isn't enough. So I thought I would share with you a few snacks that I have come across that I think work really well.

I have included the calorie count, the saturated fat and the sodium content of all 3. I think these are the most important things to look at when snacking especially saturated fat, as we know this is the bad fat. 

Let's Start with...

Emily Fruit Crisps

We've all heard of apple chips and you can get them in most health food stores but isn't the packaging of these Fruit Crisps just so lovely? They literally are bits of apples, nothing fancy, no added sugar just apple pieces.

Calories - 124 per pack 
Sat fat - 1.2g
Sodium - Trace

My biggest surprise was the taste, I do like apples but the thought of dried apple pieces doesn't thrill me I must admit, but these tasted so yummy and incredibly light but quite sweet. I love the fact there is apple skin on these pieces as to me the skin is actually the best part. I probably wouldn't devour the pack in one go, this is the type of snack you can open up and eat a little every now and then over the day.

Moving on to... 

Urban Fruit Smashing Strawberry

Hands down this isn't the most visually appealing of the 3, I mean little dark bits of fruit you can barely tell them as strawberries at first glance. But I promise that they do taste really good.

Calories - 102 per pack
Sat fat - 0g
Sodium - trace

I have tried a similar brand before and actually I really love these starwberries, if you have a bit of a sweet tooth and find yourself reaching for little gummy sweets or Haribo I personally think these are a great replacement. They are sweet but they're also chewy like a gummy sweet, so they're actually really nice. These I could eat all in one go, I also love the fact there is no saturated fat what so ever. 

And finally...

Popchips Sour Cream and Onion

These have been around for quite some time now, I always see them, even Starbucks sells them, however I have never actually tried them until now. There are a lot of health crisps on the market and I never really know which one differentiates from the other.

Calories - 95 per pack
Sat fat - 0.5g
Sodium 0.21g

These are exactly like crisps, you prefer savory things to sweet then there are the ones for you. They fulfill that crunchy crisps craving that you often get when you're trying to be good. These are probably the strongest flavour of all three, the scent as soon as you open the packet is strong, if you don't like sour cream and onion you're going to hate these. I love this flavour of crisps but even this was almost too much for me (almost)

So there we have a selection of healthy snacks. 

What healthy snacks do you recommend?

My meals today | #healthyselves

Weight and health is very topical for me right now. 

During the week I am strict with what I'm eating, no snacking and I'm focused to change the way I think about food. But my biggest problem comes at the weekend. The house is full of sweet and crisps and all things bad, so I find myself snacking a lot. 

Today I was determined not to binge and undo all of my hard work so I thought by taking pictures of what I'm eating it'll keep me focused because I know I've added it to my blog. 

I kept my food as close to how I eat at work, I have at least two apples a day. Not one after the other I'll have one and then I'll have another a few hours after. I just like apples, the greener the better... 

I had cereal for lunch with skimmed milk always skimmed milk, which is much better than a sandwich. I really struggle with carbs, I am such a carb monster but I know that I can't eat a sandwich everyday like I used to. That's two slices of bread a day and over a week that 14 slices which is nearly an entire loaf. 

I can't cut everything out otherwise it will mean that I'll binge on stuff if I deprive myself of it. So I'm doing smarter snacking, so if I want some crisps I can, but I'll have Quavers, I bloody love Quavers. If I need something sweet, weight watchers do these pretty tasty biscuits that are low calories and two is enough. 

Finally for dinner I had steak and peas. Something very simple but good, it gives my body some protein and fills me up today I didn't have an potatoes with it because I didn't feel like cooking them to be honest. This was a pretty large steak and had a little more fat on it that I would like but I just cut that off. 

If I do get a bit hungry or I fancy something sweet then I will let myself have this Options hot chocolate it bloody lovely think of melted praline in a cup (lush!) and very low calories. 

This is such a boring post I know, but it helped me to stay focused which was the main point. I'm not on a diet and I'm not counting calories, I'm just eating better cutting out things I don't actually need. I just want to be healthy. If I really wanted chocolate I will have some, if I go out for a meal, sure I'll have dessert but it's about making sensible choices and knowing that today if I have a treat I just have to be focused again tomorrow. I also drink a crazy amount of water so that I don't dehydrate. 

I am exercising as well but I'll follow up in another post.

What did you eat today?