Healthy Home Made - Basil Pesto

I never really liked pesto, it always tasted far too basil-y for my liking. That is until I tried it with chicken, in a foccacia. My taste buds were hooked! It was so creamy and delicious, I had to try and make my own!

It couldn't be hard right? Just chuck a few things in the food processor and away we go!

Actually, it really was just that simple. I doubled the batch because I didn't think it would make much, and I wanted to share it with my mum.

*Side note, my mum has just figured out how to use the internet on her new smart phone, and happened across my little bloggy-wog. I'm so excited! Hi mum!

I had bought a couple of bunches of fresh basil from Bushy Park as well as a small bag of pine nuts, so all I needed was some parmesan and I was good to go! 

Now, I had garlic and olive oil at home, so if you don't have these, make sure you grab them as well.

1 1/2 cups fresh basil  - I tore up the leaves and guestimated
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan
enough oil to emulsify

So, all you really need to do is throw everything in the food processor, and blitz till smooth-ish.

It's hella tasty, and half the jar has already gone. Thankfully I have more of everything, so I'll be making another batch next weekend.

Now, you know I wouldn't leave you without a little food porn...


This is pesto chicken, baby roma tomatoes, baby spinach on light rye bread.


Enjoy!

Love,

J xx

Breakfast Of Champions

Weekend breakfast, one of my favourite meals. I mean, you actually have time to cook, you don't have to rush to eat, so you can sit down and enjoy your meal.

One of the recipes on my 28DBT was Scrambled eggs in pita. It looked okay, but I decided to beef it up a little, and add a couple of extra vegies, Still very healthy, but slightly more calories than I was allocated on the 28DBT, oh well.

So, here is my masterpiece!



Looks delicious, right? Well, it actually is. Here is a rough guide on what I put in my version. It always ends up being a little different, just because I don't measure everything.

Serves 1

Scrambled egg mix - 2 eggs & Splash of low fat milk
Hand full of baby spinach
5 cherry tomatoes, quartered
Avocado (to spread)
Low fat feta cheese (block the size of a match box)
Small handful of red onion, finely diced
10 or so small mushrooms, sliced or quartered
1 pita pocket, cut in half (you eat both halves)

Keep in mind, you can add anything else you like, or take anything out. A small amount of grated tasty cheese is also really nice, but feel free to add some meat based protein like chicken, turkey, or even bacon if you're feeling a little naughty. Make it a little Mediterranean by adding some capsicum and olives perhaps?

So, start off by lightly frying your onion. I use a little bit of oil spray, but it's up to you. Then you need to scramble your eggs mix, and depending on how you like them, when they're half way done, throw everything else in and cook until the spinach has wilted.

If you're not keen on cooking everything, feel free to make your scrambled eggs, and put them in the pita pocket, with everything staying fresh. Entirely up to you.

Shove everything (gently) into the pita pocket, and enjoy! I recommend eating this over a plate, as it can get a little messy.

If you have any other great breakfast ideas, comment below and let me know!

Day 14 - Food Coaching

Had my very first Food Coaching session last night. Wasn't too sure what to expect when I booked it, but I'm glad I went.

Maxine weighed me again, down 2 kilo's! I'd been having trouble staying motivated, because i had been left to my own devices at the gym, but I'm so glad I am actually getting healthier.

Maxine and I had a chat about the types of foods I like, and what I should be avoiding. We spoke about my goals, and why I come to the gym. She commended me on giving the 28DayBrekaThru a try, because it's only 1200 cal a day, and that is a big change for me. I explained how I make myself a nice smoothie in the morning, instead of having 2 or 3 cups of coffee.

We didn't really have enough time to talk about much else, but afterwards she let me join in on the Summer Beach Bods group, as they had a smoothie class. Yup, that's right, smoothie class.

One of the other staff members Kerry also showed us ways we can still use coffee, without actually drinking it (is she crazy?!?!). She made us some great little coffee body scrubs, and sent us home with out own little recipe booklet.

 

I'm so glad I can talk to the wonderful ladies at the gym, even if they don't have an answer straight away, they'll always work hard to find out for me!

Talk soon, 

J xx

Day 7 - A Little Bit Of Glee

Guys, I had my first compliment today!

Well, Justin said I looked brighter and happier on Friday, but he's biased.

Anyway, I digress. Remember that horrid 'before' picture? Well, I'm wearing the same clothes today, and was complimented on 'already losing weight' and 'looking well'. Gee, thanks guys! 

I'm not going by weight (not unless I have to), but instead my my measurements and how I feel. I haven't checked my measurements, but it's only been a week. I am feeling fantastic!

I have so much energy, and I feel like I have a more positive outlook on life.

I promise I'll post a photo of how I'm going, come the month mark, but in the mean time, stay tuned for little updates every now and then, as well as my normal blog posts.

Love 

J xx

Oh Sugar, Sugar (Free)

Don't run away, I promise I'll try not to get all preachy! Hear me out though, we all know that sugar isn't really the best thing for us, so when we have the chance to remove it from our diet, why not try?

That was my thinking anyway, which is why I now have no sugar in my coffee. You heard me, no sugar. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the easiest thing to do, cause I love my sugar. But I've been slowly cutting down anyway. I mean I used to have 3 sugars with chocolate powder in my coffee, then it was just the 3 sugars, then it was 2, then 1, then artificial sweetener, until finally I just stopped adding anything sugary to it. Mind you, I still have a heck of a lot of milk, but that's more about temperature than anything.

It wasn't a conscious thing, I didn't set out to try and remove sugar from my mornings all together, it kind of just happened. But I'm getting used to coffee with no sweetness, and now I can finally taste the actual coffee. Delicious.

So, I guess that is one more thing off my 'healthy lifestyle' check list. Not that I have an actual list. Although, that would be a good idea...

Until next time!

Love

J xx

Day 4 - Smoothilicious

Is that even a word? No, I didn't think so. Oh well.

Getting back to my point! I've started having a mango smoothie in the morning (when I remember) instead of my regular coffee. I want to try and cut down my caffeine intake as much as I can, while still having a nice healthy filling breakfast. My basic smoothie was a few frozen mango chunks, some yoghurt and milk and throwing it all in the blender and hoping for the best.

Today, however, I went a little mental... I made a detour on my way home from work and headed into Bushy Park to grab some fresh fruit and vegies. I arrived home with a tonne of bananas, 2 mangoes, 2 leeks, chia seeds, 2 bunches of fresh beetroot, 2 massive bulbs of garlic and a whole bag of spinach, all for around $50!

Anyway, I portioned up all of my delicious fruit (not all the bananas though), laid it neatly on backing trays covered in baking paper and popped them in the freezer. I also cut up a few kiwi fruits I had left over, cause I didn't want them to go to waste. 



Once all of that was cleaned up, I headed off to Knox, in search of more information about protein powder. I'd heard about it, and a few friends have it either before or after their work outs, but I just wasn't sure if it was for me. I ended up speaking to a lovely young lady at the Go Vita store, who was full of knowledge and really helped me make a decision. I walked out with my very first lot of protein! 

Thought while I was at Knox, I might as well grab a couple of other things, like some coconut water, pineapples, and milk, then I was on my way home to make my first protein smoothie.

Look guys, I'm not going to lie, I made up the recipe for my smoothie tonight, out of thin air, and I cannot remember the quantities for anything. That being said it was delicious and contained:

Banana
Mango
Pineapple
Yoghurt
Milk 
Ice

I just blitzed it until smooth! How easy is that!?!?!?


I'll be trying a few new recipes/flavour ideas for smoothies soon, and I'll let you all know how I go!

For now, it's bed time, I have a doctors appointment in the morning, then it's grocery shopping with my honey.

Love,

J xx