Loving it!!!

Oh today was such a good day, I feel like I am totally buzzing at the moment. 

My life is on the  right track, I am in such a loving, happy, secure relationship, I love my home, I love my family and friends, I love my job and I love love love my healthy lifestyle.

I am so enjoying it, every aspect of it, it's like I am continuously discovering myself and surprising myself with my strength, willpower and capabilities.

I am not normally a competitive person, but I have discovered I am so competitive with myself, if I do good one day, I can do better the next!

~BREAKFAST~

 

I know this is not normal, but I am not a huge fan of eggs for breakfast, mainly because I eat so early I find them a little hard to digest.  Am fine with them if it is a little later in the day, and normally have them at weekends, but early starts and eggs don't really mix for me!

But today I fancied an omelette!  I had some asparagus, spinach, mushrooms and parma ham in the fridge so that is what I used, along with one egg and some extra egg whites.

Very tasty, but I did struggle with the last few mouthfuls ... too early!!!  But it did see me through till lunch.

~LUNCH~

 

Lunch today was the rest of the roasted tomato soup, only today it was topped with some coriander pesto and roasted pumpkin seeds.......even better the 2nd day!!

~DINNER~

 

Oh dinner tonight was totally epic! Chicken fajitas ... with HOMEMADE SEEDED WHOLEMEAL TORTILLAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Get me!!  But they are so easy to make.  I have looked at various recipes, but most of them seem to be around this one, some add olive or rapeseed oil but I made mine fat free.

250g wholemeal flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 150ml warm water (1 part boiling, 2 parts cold. I also added a tablespoon of sesame seeds and a tablespoon of flaxseeds.

Add the flour and baking powder to a large bowl and mix with hands. Then slowly add the water, still mixing with hands, bit by bit until it forms a dough. On a lightly floured surface knead the dough for a good 8-10 minutes until soft. Then let it rest for about 10 minutes.

I wanted quite large tortillas so I broke the dough into 6 bits.  Form each bit into a round and then again, on a lightly floured surface, using a rolling pin, roll each round out flat and thin, constantly turning to try and keep a roundish shape.

Heat a non-stick pan to quite hot and cook each tortilla for about 1 minute on each side.  Once each one is cooked place it in a large zip-up plastic bag.  The steam this causes helps keep them soft and stops them sticking to each other.

So onto the fajitas!!.  I sliced a couple of chicken breats quite thinly and added to a hot non-stick pan with a drop of rapeseed oil to brown, stirring every now and then.  I then added a sliced red onion followed by sliced peppers and mushrooms and let them soften a little.

I then made a fajita spice mix using 2 tsps of chilli powder, 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp garlic salt and 1/2 tsp sugar, and added this to the pan, coating everything in it.

I then squeezed a whole lime over it all and stirred again, then threw in a good handful of chopped coriander.

I served two tortillas each and simply filled each tortilla with some of the chicken and veg mix, topping with some chopped up avocado and a dollop of fat free fromage frais, and a sprinkle of grated reduced fat cheddar and rolled them up!

 

Oh my days ... they were, quite simply, AMAZING!!!  (And very filling!). I still have 2 tortillas left and a load of chicken fajita mix left so that may be lunch tomorrow!!

 

~CHOCOLATE MAGICAL ENERGY BARS~

 

I made some more of my Magical Energy Bars today as I really needed a good pick me up after today's exercise, but I made them a little different this time.

In a pan I warmed up 2 mashed bananas with a tablespoon of pumpkin butter and a tablespoon of almond butter plus 2 teaspoons of coconut oil and a tablespoon of Green & Black's cocoa powder.

In my hand mixer I blitzed up 4 pitted dates, a couple of handfuls of almonds, about 6 dried apricots, a handful of roasted coconut and  2 balls of stem ginger (drained of syrup).

In a large bowl I added 4 tablespoons of oats mixed with oatbran, a tablespoon each of pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and chia seeds.

I then added the blitzed up fruit and nut followed by the chocolate banana mix and mixed it all together.  I sprayed a small baking tray with oil and spooned the mixture in, spreading out firm, then cook in the oven on a low heat for about 45 minutes.

Remove from oven, turn out onto a rack and let cool.  I cut this up into 10 bars.  Keep in an airtight container in the fridge and they will last about a week. 

~EXERCISE~

 

Today, if I do say so myself, I totally rocked it .. and loved every minute of it!

 

I started off in the gym where I did the various weighted leg exercises, including seated leg press, leg extension, leg curl and standing calf and also the lower back extension.  Then I made myself move onto the cardio section and attempted the rowing machine.  I chose a programme, rather than just row, as one of the PT's advised me last week, and went for it.  And I actually really enjoyed it!  Did 20 minutes on there then went back to the weight machines and did my arm exercises which included the pectoral fly, rear deltoid, lat pulldown, incline chest press, chest press, shoulder press, seated row, arm extension and arm curl.  3 sets of 12 reps for each machine at quite high weights.  Damn good workout!!

 

I then went onto the pool where I did 40 lengths, and I am really really pleased to say reading up on the proper breathing techniques yesterday made such a huge difference. I managed to do most of them with my head under water, exhaling under water and inhaling as my head came out of the water.  It felt brilliant, I could feel the difference in my strokes, my body form and technique.  I felt stronger, very calm and relaxed and very focused, no panicking, just thoroughly enjoyed it.  Absolutely brilliant.

 

 

Thanks again for reading

Jo

xx