My Go-To & Simple Summer Breakfast

I often go back and forth with my appetite for breakfast. Some mornings I wake up feeling really hungry and wanting to eat buttermilk pancakes with fruit, bacon and maple syrup, eggs benedict or eggs florentine (then my mind wanders about whether I could actually eat all three in one sitting...). Other mornings I have absolutely no appetite at all. The thought of eating anything turns my stomach enough to make me just want to drink orange squash until lunch time. Isn't it weird how my body is so indecisive? I blame it being on a gemini.

However, now that I am back home now and working part-time, eating nothing in the morning is simply not an option anymore. Some workdays I am awake at 5am for a 7am start and need something in me so I don't feel like I'm going to pass out half way through a busy shift. My Mum introduced this recipe to me as she too were in the same boat with early mornings. She has coined it 'Summer Porridge' which I think is a very fitting name.

All you will need for this recipe is:

• 1 small tuppaware box
• Yoghurt of your chosen type and flavour (we often go for strawberry/raspberry/vanilla Activia as they are the lowest in fat and sugar and the tastiest we have found thus far)
• Frozen fruit of your choice
• Porridge oats

Instructions for this breakfast could not be simpler. All you have to do is mix together the yoghurt and oats (the ones we buy come with a measuring spoon- though 1 or 2 tablespoons should suffice!) until completely coated and combined. Pop in your frozen fruit and into the fridge it goes to allow the oats to soak and the frozen fruit to defrost. 

See how easy it is? I often make 2 at a time so I have a back-up just in case Mum needs something in the morning too. As the oats absorb into the yoghurt, it becomes much more creamy and fills you up just like a bowl of ordinary hot porridge on a winters morning would! Be sure to experiment with different flavours and fruit and see what your favourite combination is! 

Thank you for reading and don't forget to share this post with anyone who you think would enjoy it too!

Have a great rest of your day!

Paris x

Fitness Friday #2: Dinner & Dessert Under 550 Calories!

As well as a love for make-up and fashion, I have a very hearty love for food and cooking. This stems from years of being fed good food from my Mum. She is a wonderful cook who loves experimenting with different recipes and flavours. She makes a rather delicious chilli con carne and very famous bruschetta- my friends love it and she makes it especially for them when we visit. I did actually film a vlog of her showing how she makes it which you can watch here (it's quite an old vlog so prepare for some shaky filming haha!) I guess I have inherited this same love for experimentation. In my food. A love for solely experimentation could be perceived somewhat differently haha.

When it comes to food, I generally go for more red meats like beef etc. However, on this new healthy lifestyle I'm on, red meat isn't the healthiest of protein choices I could be making and have gone back to chicken. I usually like chicken but do not love it. I find it can be very flavour-less and bland. To add some flavour to my chicken, I concocted (great word) a rather tasty marinade that consisted of the following:

2 tbsp of vegetable/sunflower oil

1 tbsp of tamari

1 crushed clove of garlic

1 good shaking of paprika

1 tsp of mixed herbs

and another good shaking of black pepper

I then added my 2 chicken breasts making sure each side was well covered in the marinade and I left it to soak in all those flavours for around 45 mins to 1 hour. Of course you can leave it for longer as I normally would but I just didn't have the time. It still packed a lot of flavour though so don't worry if you're pushed for time like me.

Instead of pan frying, I popped the chicken underneath the grill for about 14 minutes in total (7 minutes on each side) and sliced through the middle to ensure it was all cooked and there was no pink left. Salmonella is no fun so any hint of pink means more time in the heat.

Whilst that was cooking, I boiled some water and threw in a cup of frozen peas. These were done by the time the chicken was done so timing was on point. Try and refrain from slathering on butter onto your peas, its unnecessary calories you don't need. Buttery peas are nice on a Christmas dinner, not on your weekly meal.

Everything done and dished up and you should have a little something like this...

Looks good right? And it's only 376 calories!

Now onto dessert which is a recent favourite of mine. I'm not normally one for cereal at all (I was more of a marmite on toast kind of girl back in the day) but I've really been loving Cheerios with soya milk and fruit. I made the switch to soya milk from semi skimmed cow's milk a few days ago and I LOVE it. It's much sweeter than cow's milk but it is less creamy. 

With my cheerios, soya milk and some cut up strawberries, I enjoyed a rather delicious dessert that was just over 150 calories! God, I love eating healthy and I don't feel like I am starving myself at all. I'm still able to enjoy something sweet in the evenings without feeling guilty amongst a mountain of Daim bar wrappers. 

I hope this post hasn't made you too hungry but gives you some ideas on how to spice up a piece of chicken or how to satisfy that sweet tooth whilst trying to be as healthy as possible!

Let me know what you think and of course any recipes you have tried that you really enjoy!

Thank you for reading!

Yummy Healthy Dinner!

I posted a few weeks ago saying how I needed to start eating more healthily as being at university and having my meals provided for me in the on campus canteen. Also, going out drinking with my friends more frequently than usually had really taken a toll on my body and skin. So as I am staying with a friend, I have been buying all of my own food and cooking my dinners every night. I naturally love fruit and vegetables so being healthy isn't really difficult for me, I just run out of healthy ideas but I have a few things I want to try and I'll document them on here as part of a healthy food series.

So the other night, I cooked lamb with baby new potatoes and some salad. Here are some photos of the prep work and cooking:

And here is the final result! This was so yummy and I didn't feel so full afterwards that I felt guilty! I also had a good mix of vegetables and protein. Oh and a cheeky glass of milk to make sure I get my calcium! ;)

Let me know in the comments what kind of healthy food dishes you cook for yourself and I'll keep you updated of every new, healthy meal I cook!

Thank you for reading this post!

Paris xxx