Healthier Tasty Snack Bars

As well as attempting to eat healthier for my main meals I've also recently tried out some different snacks. A lot of these are healthier alternatives to foods i love such as chocolate. I find it very difficult to completely cut out the unhealthy foods and often crave sweet snacks in between meals. Here I've got 5 examples of some of the snacks id recommend you also give a go if your trying to cut down on fatty sugary snacks.  All of the single purchase bars are all under £1 too so you don't have to break the bank to eat better for your body.

1- Trek Cocoa Oat Protein Flapjack

I've tried this little flapjack bar a couple of times now and at first i wasn't too sure but the more of it i ate the nicer it became. Its a solid flapjack bar with a  thin layer of chocolate flavoured top. It has quite a crumbly hobnob like texture. As described on the packaging it is a good source of protein and is also suitable for vegans and is gluten free.

2/3- Shapers Nougat Bars

Initially i was interested in these bars because they were nougat which i know is a sweet spongy textured delight. The flavours of the bars i have tried are 'Salted caramel' and 'Honeycomb'. They're only 95/96 calories per bar which is considerably low compared to a standard chocolate bar. These are probably the best to normal chocolate because they don't taste healthy. They contain only 2.6g of fat and 12g of sugar (per bar).

4- Squirrel Sisters Cocao Brownie

This rich fruit and nut bar is simply fruit and nuts made to taste like the bliss of a sugar filled brownie bite. Its gluten and dairy free and is only 82 calories. Per pack it includes 4.2g of fat and 6.8g of sugar (all natural). I found this to be really nice and sweet which i love and the texture was really similar to an actual brownie. In the packet it comes with 2x20g bites which can be eaton in one go or on separate occasions.

5- Nakd. Cocoa Orange fruit and Nut bar (No Photo)

Again i was a little sceptical to start with this bar as you can be put off by the fact that its actually fruit and nuts all mushed into a bar. To my surprise after eating a few i actually really like them. The chocolate orange flavour is very strong which is what tricks you into forgetting the healthy stuff. The texture is nice and dense and soft when eating. These are normally sold in packs of 4 meaning you pay a little more but you get a few instead of just one.

I hope this blog has maybe inspired you to switch your unhealthy snacks for something slightly different and lower in fat and sugar. Ideally obviously snacking on something that isn't sugary is best for you, But when craving some sweetness that isn't actual fruit i enjoy treating myself knowing I've made a decision to pick the 'healthier' alternative. If you'd like to try them yourself I've purchased all of the above from either Boots or Tesco.

New Lounge Underwear

So recently i purchased another set of Lounge Underwear because i loved the first set i got so much. They style that i ordered are very similar to the classic calvin klein style which i also really love. To start, the way lounge package and send they're products is very appealing. It comes in a white classic delivery bag which is covered in the word 'Lounge'. Then inside is your invoice for what you have purchased like you would expect to get with any online delivery. The underwear is bagged up in clear bags inside a matte black air tight bag which is resealable. Its like they have just gone a little bit extra with their packaging which definitely makes some kind of difference in my opinion.

In the photo you can see that I've ordered a matching set. The top is the "scoop" bra which has no underwire or uncomfortable bits in like some other bras you can get. To match i ordered the matching thong bottoms. (You can pick between thong or briefs when ordering.)  I chose the black with white elastic as i already own the white with black elastic in the triangle bra style. These by far are one of my now favourite sets because they make me feel good and are super comfortable. The only downfall of this product is possibly the price as they are normally £40 for the set. Also i feel like the tag in the underwear could be made smaller or with a different material because i always have to cut them out because they're so sharp.

Lounge have also recently brought out a lace collection in different colours and styles which is what i want to get my hands on next in the Khaki Green colour. Ive left the web link below if you would like to also check out their website.

https://www.loungeunderwear.com

For free shipping you can also use a code i got sent through "SHIPFREE" this is free international shipping on any of the sets.

For 50% of the 'scoop' bra and pants set use code "SCOOP50"

A Day In The Life

A Day In The Life Of ShannyC

13/04/17

When I'm lucky enough to have a whole day off from work i like to keep busy and make the most of my time. This may be going to the gym and making a healthy lunch, or going out with friends or family to do whatever it is i fancy.(Not gonna lie sometimes i stay in bed all day too but thats good use of my time when i feel like doing nothing)  Today I treated my mum to lunch and we went to Nandos! Not gonna lie my mum doesn't really get out much because of her work and i barely see her so i decided to treat her to lunch as its also pay day for me so whats better than a pay day treat! Every single time i go to Nando's i always get a Medium chicken pitta and always forget to ask for no salad which i end up scraping out and replacing with mayo and whatever my choice of side is. Today i had spicy rice and garlic bread because i was super hungry.

After Lunch i went to Topshop on the hunt for more jeans but typically they didn't have my size because i have super long legs meaning i usually have to go about ordering them online (I much rather trying things on before i buy them). I also picked up a new thin black velvet choker and a pair of grey velvet shorts. 

StarBucks

Ive never really been a massive coffee drinker and I've always said up until about 2 weeks ago that i don't like Starbucks coffee. This was however before i decided to try an 'Iced caramel Macchiato with almond milk and one shot of coffee'. This is now my favourite. Being a bit of an obsessive person i go through phases of obsessively doing things or eating or whatever. Im currently in my coffee zone and I've bought this drink like 6 times in the last 2 weeks (Thats £23.40 on coffee WTF) 

After coffee we shopped in few other places before heading home. My day wasn't awfully long as mum had to rush back to work. For dinner i made myself vegetable soup (If your interested in the recipe check out my previous blog post) 

In the evening Olly and I went out to see some friends and enjoy the rest of our evening over some (Too many) drinks.  I feel like my life is really pretty basic particularly when i have college and work most days. But its important to enjoy and not take for granted the time you have off to do what you please. 

3 Super Easy Healthy Meal Ideas

As some of you may know recently i have taken on a more of a healthy lifestyle of going to gym frequently and i have also tried changing the things i eat to make the gym feel more worth while and to reach my goals faster than i would if i ate a load of rubbish. Im all about making food quickly as i much prefer enjoying the food than i do preparing it. Here are 3 of my favourite quick and easy meal ideas i wanted to share in case any of you guys are looking to simply eat a little more healthily or just want something quick and tasty when you next get hungry.

Idea 1 - Chicken and Vegetable soup

Ingredients: 

*1 Leek

*1 sweet potato

*1 white potato

*1 carrot

*1 garlic clove (finely chopped/crushed)

*1 small red chilli

*1 chicken breast (diced)

*2x chicken or beef stock cubes

*roughly 400-500ml of water depending on how you want it.

-If you'd prefer you can use different meats such as diced beef for example like i have done in the portion displayed in the photo.

Method:

Simply cut up all the vegetables and chicken and put it all into the water. Ensure you cook it off for long enough to ensure the meat is cooked through which usually takes around 10-15 minutes when i make this myself using chicken as my meat.

Idea 2 - Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients:

*Uncle Ben's sweet and sour sauce
*Egg Noodles
*Mini Corn
*A Carrot
*Broccoli
*1 Chicken breast (Diced)

Method:
-To start boil your egg noodles in water until soft. Using a sieve drain the water so they're sitting ready to be added to the rest of the ingredients.

-Using a frying pan cook the chicken until its cooked thoroughly.

-Continue by adding the sliced carrot, chopped broccoli and mini corns just to soften them up a little.

-Add the noodles and sweet and sour sauce, stir in and heat for an additional 2-3 minutes to heat the noodles and sauce.

-Serve and enjoy!

Idea 3 - BBQ Chicken and Wholegrain Rice

This is by far the simplest recipe of the 3 i have chosen. So if you really have no time to prepare your dinner then this is the one for you. 

Ingredients:

*1 Chicken breast (Diced)

*Packet of wholegrain rice

*BBQ seasoning

Method:

Simply chuck your diced chicken breast in a frying pan and sprinkle over some of the Bbq seasoning.

Meanwhile have the packet of wholegrain rice cooking away in the microwave, this normally takes 2 minutes but always read the instructions in case its different.

I drizzled some HP sauce over for some extra flavour but this is not essential. 

Barcelonaaa 2017

For my 18th Birthday I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to travel to Barcelona for 3 nights. Me and Olly travelled from Norwich train station to Ely where we switched for a train to Stansted Airport.

We stayed at the Radisson Blu hotel as our flights flew early the next day! We arrived at Barcelona at around 10.30am and the weather was totally lush. What i would say to be aware of if you ever take a trip is that you don't get ripped off by the taxi drivers how we did... the charge we were given for a simple trip getting us from the airport to the hotel was totally ridiculous.

Dayyyy 1- 

We checked into our hotel and were greeted with a welcome drink of champagne which was really lovely. Our room was on the second floor of a beautiful boutique hotel located directly opposite the Barcelona boat harbour. we dropped off our bags and set to the streets to find a small corner store where we could buy some water and snacks. Places we visited on our first day included walking down 'La Rambla' which is a long market street with restaurants and shops. We also found a food market where I bought a chocoate strawberry skewer. For dinner we ate at a small corner restaurant on the same strip as our hotel and we both ordered burger and chips.

(Photo of some of the breakfast platters)

Dayyyy 2- (Thursday 23rd of March)

We went down for out breakfast in the main restaurant at about 9am. Don't get me wrong breakfast was really nice and well presented but me and Olly both described it as potentially 'Too Fancy'. i craved a good British fry up but instead there were fancy cheeses and salamis, quiche and green bean platters. We had cocoa pops and i had a couple of chocolate donuts because why not? After spending some time in our room to get ready we went out into the sun and walked towards the beach. For lunch I bought a French stick, allioli (garlic butter), salami and some cocktail crips which are my total favourite crisps when abroad.

(Olly in front of the beach)

Dayyyy 3- (Friday 24th of March)

The weather couldn't of been any worse on day 3! It was heavy rain showers all day and thunderstorms in the night. We started the day with breakfast at 9am, then we resumed to chill In our room for the majority of the day. However eventually we decide to venture out and started by popping to a corner store to buy an umbrella before we had a little walk across to a shopping centre that was near our hotel. We venture out again In the evening for dinner where we had eaton on day 2; I had pasta bolegnase. Olly had a skinny steak and chips and both our portion sizes where huge meaning we were both totally stuffed by the time we had finished.

Dayyyy 4- (Saturday 25th of March)

This was our last day in Barcelona and luckily the lovely weather was back. we chose to take another trip down to the beach as it was so lovely when we went on day 2. We walked along the beach and up past what we called the 'Big W building' because it had a big 'W' on the side. it was interesting how many cute dogs where running around the beach, people on skateboards and Segways, groups of people doing workouts on the beach and swimming in the sea. We stopped and ate at a cute little burger bar called 'Bacon'. They served up some really lovely big juicy burgers with chips and we ate outside right opposite the beach. Before we had to leave the beautiful Barcelona we also got a Mars ice cream each which we ate near the beach. 

(The Barcelona Harbour near our Hotel)

Detox water 🌱

Detox water is a new thing to me but has been used by loads of people as part of their healthy diet lifestyles. If you are not the kind of person who can go about drinking water al day to help keep you hydrated then maybe detox water is the thing for you! It is simply fruit infused water, this makes the water have vitamin qualities and also have a fruity to tangy flavour without adding bad sugars or additives.

My first impressions on the drink is that the flavour can be quite bitter depending on the fruits you use. Today I made a lemon,lime and strawberry detox water  I didn't leave it long before drinking it so the flavour was quite mild.

#Tip1: Be sure to leave your water to infuse for for at least 3 hours for a decent flavour 

I use a simple pink filter lid bottle which just stops the large chunks of fruit from coming out of the lid but I am getting a legit water diffusing bottle which has the proper fruit cage in the bottle.

#Tip2: Get your hands on a decent diffuser bottle so it diffuses the flavour well and stops your from drinking all the gritty fruity bits. (they're not that nice) 

I think it's good to try out different combinations of fruits and flavours so drinking water is made interesting for you 

#Tip3: Find fruits and flavours you really like because you are more likely to be enthusiastic about drinking your creations 

Its really easy to do and costs near to nothing so why not give it ago!!

4 Tips To Healthy Living

1) It's important to be healthy and eat right when your trying to maintain or improve your fitness. It's crucial to have a balanced diet and include lots of fruit and veg as well as drinking lots of water. Eating food like crisps and chocolate are just your enemies in the path of trying to improve your health.

2) To sustain fitness you must keep on top of your metabolism and not only does drinking more water help with this if you simply do a 5 minute workout to raise your heartbeat at the beginning of the day it will drastically increase your metabolism making it easier to lose weight and stay healthy.

3) Exercise Exercise Exercise!!! It's so important to Excursize to burn off the calories you are eating. You naturally burn a certain amount of calories a day without going for a run for example but you eat more so by simply burning more calories than you actually eat I basically how you lose weight. 

4) Theres more to fitness than just running. Sit ups and squats are examples of excersizes that tone your muscles to help give you definition. These types of movements are important in the process of becoming fit because you don't want to be thin with no shape. (That's if you want to look fit/toned) 

In my future blogs I will be putting up recipes and workouts for getting fit if you want them x 

(Disclaimer photos used are not mine)