Organic Matcha Latte

I've really loved getting into my green tea recently and although a cup of the hot stuff does do great things for your body, nothing compares to Green Matcha. 

 Rather than with the brewed water in tea, Green Matcha allows you to get the benefits from the entire leaf. In terms of the benefits, I've read that it's up to 10 times better than just having the tea - so that says a lot!

 Some of the main benefits you gain from Green Matcha are that it calms & relaxes, helps you fight against viruses and bacteria, rich in fibre, lowers your cholesterol, it's rich in antioxidants and also boosts your metabolism. 

 From my experience of using Green Matcha mixed in my Green Smoothies and in the Latte form (see below), I have a lot more energy throughout the day and my hunger pangs are kept at bay too. 

So I thought I'd share with you a quick recipe to make your very own Green Matcha Lattes. I got my Green Matcha from Kiss Me Organics and  it comes in quite a good sized pouch so it lasts for ages.

You'll need:
1 tsp Green Matcha powder
1/4 cup of boiling water
3/4 cup of Almond Milk
Honey or Sweetener to your preference

Mix the Green Matcha with the boiling water until smooth, then add your hot milk and sweetener. How simple! 

We Are Tea

I have always hated tea. 

It's been difficult to explain to the many British tea lovers out there, but for me, tea literally made me gag. I don't know what it was that did it but I just could not stomach the stuff. 

However, that is now a thing of the past. 

 We Are Tea has transformed my view on tea and I can't get enough of the stuff. There's no weird after taste and I actually look forward to having tea time now. 

Daintea is a slimming tea that tastes amazing. I like to have one of these in the morning and then again around half 3. They help to curb my appetite and give me a bit more energy just in time for the gym after work. 

I also got to try the Moroccan Mint Green tea which is lovely for those times you need something to just perk you up. It's very refreshing and I like to have a cup on those nights where I'm resting from the gym. 

And lastly, Serenitea is something I bought to settle myself before bed. I go through stages where getting to sleep is somewhat of a task, I get riddled with nightmares and even have to sleep with the light on just to settle. So I bought this in the hope that it would help and if I'm totally honest it has helped a little bit. I do feel calmer and I think that's a combination of the ingredients and also the time I take out to just sit in bed with a warm cup of tea. 

I'm really enjoying exploring the We Are Tea range and I'm definitely going to be a repeat buyer of this brand, especially the Daintea tea bags. 

Have you tried We Are Tea before?

Green Smoothie #1

I recently bought myself a Blend Active and I think it might just be the best thing I have bought this year! With over 1000 reviews on Amazon stating how much everyone loves their new blender, I couldn’t resist and I will never look back.

 The Blend Active consists of a compact (for a blender anyway) blender base with not 1 but 2 takeaway bottles that you simply screw the blender blade onto, blitz, screw off, twist your lid on and you’re on your way! They blend everything including ice and every time I have used this, I’m always left with a really smooth, great tasting smoothie for my Breakfast. 

I’ve really enjoyed getting into my Green Smoothies recently, they provide you with so many benefits from your skin to your energy levels so it’s really transformed my day swapping my usual breakfast for one of these vitamin/nutrient packed smoothies. 

After a bit of research and scrolling through endless recipes I finally landed on SimpleGreenSmoothies.com. If you sign up with them they send you a starter guide for your green smoothies and they post fresh, interesting and seasonal recipes regularly; so your green smoothie will never be boring. 

So here is my first Green Smoothie recipe for you to try with a little info on what each ingredient can do for you. 

Spinach – A great source for vitamins, filled with Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Thaimin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6 as well as Iron, Magnesium and Calcium, Spinach is a great all-rounder for skin clearing as well as aiding digestion.

Romaine – This type of lettuce is packed with vitamin, minerals, phytonutrients and fibre that can help keep illness at bay throughout the year. An excellent source of Vitamin A and Vitamin K makes your smoothie super heart healthy. 

Grapes – High in water content and antioxidants, Grapes provide numerous benefits from eye health to clearing skin whilst remaining low in calories.

Bananas – Low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, Bananas are not only tasty but are a great source of dietary fibre, vitamin C, potassium and Manganese. Although Bananas contain a bit of sugar, this doesn’t mean you should avoid them, use them in smoothies that are meal replacements and you’ll find it easier not to go over your recommended daily sugar allowance. 

Raspberries – One of the best benefits of raspberries is that they can increase your metabolism in fat cells through their phytonutrients especially in Rheosmin (aka raspberry ketone). These little berries are also packed full of antioxidants, so these don’t just add great flavour to your smoothie. 

Water – We all know that water is just THE best thing out there when you’re trying to get healthy. The reason I choose water in my green smoothies is for the endless amounts of goodness that it provides. From skin to energy levels, water is key to keeping hydrated and to aiding weight loss. 

1 cup spinach

1 cup romaine lettuce

1 cup grapes 

1 medium ripe banana

1 cup raspberries

Add water to your preferred smoothie thickness

Bulk Powders - Protein Smoothie

After starting a new gym routine, I quickly learned that I needed to add something extra into my diet to keep my energy up as I was really flagging. 

 Introducing the Complete High Protein Smoothie from Bulk Powders. 

 Yep – that’s a Strawberry Smoothie that’s high in protein and contains real fruit pieces!

The fast absorbing protein aids in recovery once I have finished my workout or works great in the morning if I need to shoot off to work. This protein packed smoothie contains amino acids that are vital when you are working your muscles, with a combination of cardio and weights being incorporated into my daily workout, this smoothie has been warmly welcomed!

 The naturally occurring vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants in the fruit pieces and powder also provide you with energy and health benefits that can be quickly absorbed – not to mention that it’s delicious!

 Worlds apart from your standard Protein Shake, this smoothie offers you something that feels a little more natural into your routine. The strawberry flavour is something I really look forward to once I’ve finished my workout and even after just a week of drinking this I feel more energised. 

You can get the Complete High Protein Smoothie in Strawberry and Blueberry – yum!

The Lazy Girl's Guide to Fitness Apps

I know I’ve not blogged for a little while, but it’s felt quite nice to have a break. It’s allowed me to really focus on my fitness and so far I’ve lost 6 lbs in 3 weeks from becoming more active and eating healthy. 

However, much of this exercise and eating business wouldn’t be even half as easy if I didn’t have my collection of apps behind me. They keep me on track and motivated which is all you need when you’re starting out. Like everyone says – the first step is always the hardest! 



MyFitnessPal 

MFP to those more acquainted with this beauty of an app, allows you to monitor your calorie intake as well as noting activity levels and weight progress. When you first sign up to MFP you are introduced to your new and improved calorie intake. This is based on a number of things including your weight, the amount of activity you do during the day etc, it doesn’t cut you down to ridiculously low amounts like 500 calories a day; it promotes a healthy approach to eating. 

Food – this aspect of MFP is brilliant. With a huge database built up of products from every supermarket and brand in the world, you’ll struggle to come across a product that hasn’t already been listed for you. Within this it not only lists the calorie content, but the nutrition within the food too. So when you add your meal in, you’re informed of whether there’s too much fat in it or its low in sodium… which is great! You can also quickly review how much carbs, protein and fat you’ve eaten during the day. This part of the app really starts to make you think about what you are eating for each meal. I like to put in all of my food in the morning, it then shows me how many calories I can or can’t still eat, meaning that if I fancy a little bit of something extra (usually chocolate), I can account for it properly. 

For the exercise part you can input the activity you have done with estimated or precise calories burned alongside it (which then automatically deducts from your food intake meaning more food for us hungry lot). Or you can sync your MFP with any compatible apps out there to record this activity too. 

Best of all – When you’re done with the day and tick it off in the diary, it gives you an estimate of how much weight you’d lose if you ate that many calories for the next 5 weeks! Talk about motivating! 

This app is free up to a certain point, then it’s £3.99 a month. I would give the free version a go first as I have been using this for months now and not felt the need to update yet. 



MapMyRun 

Which brings me on to MapMyRun, my second favourite app on my phone! This super responsive fitness app is brilliant! Running is something I have turned to, to lose weight since I was 16 and for the last 3 weeks I have well and truly fallen in love with it again. 

This app allows you to record the type of activity you are doing, be it interval training like I have been doing or a brisk dog walk, it uses google maps to monitor how far you are going, your pace and the amount of calories you have burned in the process. And even better, now that it’s getting a bit darker and let’s face it, far riskier for running, the app can also connect you to your friends or family so that they know where you are too. Getting lost is near impossible with this app. 

It also syncs with your music so that you can have a little more motivation when on the move and gives you an update throughout your run too, letting you know where you are at before you decide to give up and go home. 

I love this app because it syncs with MyFitnessPal so easily. Before I know it, it’s there in MFP, having taken off the calories I have worked so hard to burn off! 





Couch to 5K 

Now let’s not kid myself too much. I am a couch potato and love pizza, so my fitness level is worse than that of a snail, however in the last 3 weeks I have seen a vast improvement in my running and it’s all down to C25K. 

An interval training app that’s very user friendly, you are encouraged to run 3 times a week with rest days in the hope that in 9 weeks you’ll be able to run 5k. You are given a 5 minute warm up and cool down followed by various periods of jogging and walking that is all timed for you. 

In my first week I struggled running nonstop for just a minute… where I’d be left really out of breath and sometimes not even being able to make 60 seconds. But now I can do 2 minutes of brisk jogging without even thinking about stopping. It’s promoting a healthy incline in activity no matter your fitness level! What’s great about the app is that when you feel that you’ve conquered one stage, you’re given a new challenge straight away. You’re not stuck in a rut just running at a the same level where you are comfortable, it really wants you to be out of breath so that when you do it next time, you aren’t. 

I plan on doing the Colour Run next July in Manchester, so I have full faith that this app will get me where I need to be for that! 





My Top Tips for Starting Out 

* Don’t be too hard on yourself 

I am a great advocate for the cheat day! If I didn’t have those days where I can eat pizza, chocolate and pasta without feeling guilty then I would have given up after a few days. I eat well during the week and let myself off on the weekend! I try to sneak in a dog walk with Elliot’s pooches too so that it’s not TOO crazy as well. 


* Find a Fitness Buddy 

I have been extremely lucky in that I have landed myself a job sitting next to a likeminded girl who is using the same apps as me to lose weight. We constantly keep on top of eachother and motivate eachother to go on our runs. There’s also nothing better than finding somebody who can appreciate a big bowl of pasta after a hard week of running and eating well. 


* Plan Ahead 

One thing that I’m finding difficult at the moment is finding the time to run now that it is dark at 5pm. So I now plan my runs in the morning, having early nights before hand with my running gear all lined up ready by the door. Before this, I planned my running between seeing my friends to make sure that I definitely did them and had good rest days.


Are there any fitness apps that you've been using? 

Motivate Me Monday

I find Instagram to be such a great source of inspiration for my Motivate Me Monday. I follow loads of fitness accounts and find myself just scrolling through their images whenever I get a craving for naughty food or need something to motivate me to exercise. 

Incorporating health and fitness into what would be my usual social media time, really does help to get the message across. Here are a few of my favourite images from browsing on instagram this morning.

Motivate Me Monday

I'm feeling really motivated at the moment. I really want to get fit before Christmas and that is now my goal. I'm going to go for a run tonight and not binge when I get in. 

I've had yoghurt and blueberries for my breakfast, which is lovely. It doesn't leave me feeling heavy and I'm just having a plain salad for my lunch. Really feeling good today and I hope you do too. 

Motivate Me Monday

Is everyone else loving that the sun is out again today?

I have had SUCH a lazy weekend. But I've loved it, I was eating well last week so felt I deserved to just nap and chill all weekend. As you do. 

So my fitspiration today is a warm welcome to the week I feel. I'm ready to eat well again and now that the sun is back out, might even be tempted to start up my walking/running again. 

Motivate Me Monday

This week is a new start! I've already started it pretty well by switching my wholemeal toast breakfast for half a grapefruit. Salad for lunch and probably something equally as healthy for dinner. It's a new day and I am ready for some fitspo!

Motivate Me Monday

This week I've needed a little bit more inspiration than most to get eating healthy. I did make a vegetable soup with my new blender (which was amazing) but then I got a bit ill with a sore throat; and we all know what happens when you're feeling under the weather... binging happens. 

So my pillar of inspiration today came from the Daily Mail. I kind of love Vicky from Geordie Shore. Her transformation is fabulous and she's stunning. I also love her attitude towards life, she's a girl that will speak her mind and she's definitely somebody I'd get on with. So this week, love her or hate her, Vicky Pattison is my Motivate Me Monday inspiration. Her 7 Day Slim has been on my wish list for a while now, the more pictures I see of her on Instagram, the more I want it. I think I'll be purchasing this soon.

Motivate Me Monday

How have we all been getting on?

I made steps, although small, towards getting back on track again. I was a little naughty, but that's normal. You can't restrict yourself all week. So it's been a mixed bag this week but I feel better for it. I hope that all of you have all been feeling more motivated again too!