Healthy Eating
Things have been so busy with work lately and I realised my healthy eating and living has been suffering. Too many mornings I end up waking early and going to my computer, instead of the gym or running with my beloved poodle. When this happens I promise myself I will take him for a long walk at lunchtime or at the end of the day and invariably it doesn’t happen. With the my recent lack of exercise has also come a lack of healthy eating.
When work isn’t quite as busy you always find me at the gym or out running 6 days a week and then taking a long walk on a Sunday morning with John and Bob. I also walk to the shops at lunchtime to pick up fresh food for dinner that night, unless we are out for dinner with friends I will cook a healthy meal at least 5 times a week.
So how do I get the balance back in my life and bring back the healthy living again? I am sure I’m not the only person who has this dilemma and is asking themselves “how can I get back to my normal healthier lifestyle”.
This weekend I decided it was time to work on this, and started by calling my lovely friend Michelle and asking her for her amazing homemade muesli recipe. I then set to work in the kitchen making a batch that will last me at least 10 days. I know exactly what has gone into it and know it is not full of sugar ,which is one thing I really dislike about bought muesli. The next thing I did was bake a batch of my mum’s Cornish Fairing biscuits so that if I had that sweet craving I had something healthy and tasty to go for, rather than the shop bought biscuits I have had in the house lately. I also got back into cooking popcorn to snack on when I am hungry in the middle of the day. When John returned home from Sydney I baked his yummy fruit slice which is another great thing to have in the house. This is another recipe that came from Michelle (yes she is definitely one of the healthiest people I know)!
OK so breakfast and snacks have been taken care of, so it’s time to look at how else I can improve my eating (I will get onto the exercise later)!
I went back to the kitchen and cooked some freezer meals for when I don’t have time to cook. I made a huge batch of Spaghetti Bolognaise and with the left over mince, (yes I bought slightly too much) I made my Thick Noodles with Hoisin Mince, I then popped individual serves into the freezer. I then made a huge maccaroni cheese (using my niece’s recipe from our family cookbook) to freeze. Not necessarily the healthiest meal, but it is one of John’s favourites and he will love going to the freezer if I am out and finding it there.
Rather than relying on walking / driving down to the shops to get food in for dinner, I have decided I am going to do the shopping on Sunday, so that a healthy food selection is always in the house. If it is there, I have to cook it so it doesn’t go to waste and because I have to cook dinner I will have to finish work at a decent time each night, so it is a win win situation.
One of my favourite dishes to cook when I am busy and want something healthy for dinner is my Chicken in a bag with mushrooms. I will upload this recipe once I have cooked this in the next week or so. You can make it in the morning and simply pop it in the oven 20 minutes before you want to eat. The flavours are amazing and it is a healthy meal, especially with some snow peas as well. All in all most of the meals I cook and that are on our website are healthy (of course the desserts may be a little indulgent, but we all have to have treats now and then)!
Now I have my last challenge, the exercise. How do I motivate myself to get out running or going to the gym now that the weather is colder and work is so busy. The best way is to take a look at the excited little poodle that sits by my bed when the alarm goes off, waiting to go out for a run. Those puppy dog eyes are sure to get me out of bed when I am not feeling like it. They worked this morning when I was ready to have a late start to the day, but instead I was talked around going for a long, fast walk to the beach with Bob, after which we both felt better.
Let us know if you have any tips on healthy meals and keeping fit.
Happy cooking and running
Rachel
