Dear Father Christmas...

Y'know what? I'm actually pretty mad at Gill for introducing me to iHerb.com, with their EXTENSIVE range of lust worthy items , sorry lust-worthy MUY CARO items. Just kidding, I'm definitely not mad at her, how could you be?

But I want to spend money. Loadsa money. I don't know if you can see the total at the end of that order, buuuuutt.....

Anyway, i've resolved to NOT ORDER the cacao bliss artisana butter, and instead going to attempt to make it myself. AND NO-ONE IS GOING TO STOP ME. I think i got a bit cocky and CARRIED AWAY from my (minor) kitchen success in relation to the raw banana bread balls. Minus the bread. PLUS THE YUMMINESSS, OOOOWWW YEAH.

1000 words

Well i havent counted, but i know FO SHO that this post has more than 1000 words... as there is SHOCK HORROR, pictures! HA.

Memory card reader, GET IN MY MOUTH, sorry no, that's you Mr. Fake-NAKD-Banana-Bread-Ball, GET IN MY LAPTOP!

About that banana ball thingy. Well it all started when i came across a nakd bar that i hadn't tried before, called banana bread, onn bite.. and i was in love. So this started happening...

Now... mathematics IS NOT MY STRONG POINT, but i reckon i 'cracked' the recipe (not really hard.. but for me.. well, i just felt incredibly PROUD...)


So I got friendly with my food processor and the end result was these...






Yeah ok, SUE ME, i edited the last picture but not the first two... i'm a terrible blogger.



I also wanted to show you (an also EDITED :O) picture of a typical couple of meals here in the Sarah Household... First up, a gorge beetroot, red pepper, protein sprinkle, tofu PLATE OF LUUURVE..
And then an almost NIGHLTY tofu stir-fry habit (ignore the fact there is daylight in this picture.. it was lunch)




And then, the crowning porridge-y glory (now you canne post a picture of porridge without telling you, dear readers, sorry, NO READERS, what goes in.. so here goes:

1. 1/4 cup oats


2. 2 egg whites


3. cinnamononman


4. 1/2 frozen banana, melty-McMeltison


5. A cocoa/water 'sauce' (in a New York accent, of course) "Saaawwce"

LOVE.

Now i'm late for work.

See ya x

USA Blog-readers LISTEN UP

Hello!

If there are ANY USA peeps out there that are reading this, at any stage (even if its 3 years after the ORIGINAL POST) that would want to do a blog blog swap with soem English goodies, gimme a holla, por favor (see i'm mixing it up...). The item in question, specifically that i would be after would be some powdered peanut butter.

Trader Joe's and PB2 come highly recommended i HEAR, with my little ear to the blog-ground....

Yeah, or if anyone has any US relatives? I'm just born and bred English, with a hint of Flemmish thrown in, for good measure.. of course. But i don't really know of any Belgium health food products i'm after, so that's a bit unhelpful x

London crazy-funness

Oh, How i'd love to move to the big bright city, with its lights and MASSIVE WHOLE FOODS. Now i'm just going to say, i was (very generously) handed a crisp £20 note before venturing into, what was the foodie equivalent, of heaven. I ended up coming out with my mother, with a bill that DID DEFINITELY NOT SAY £68.70. Yes that's a lie.

Oh my god. I also accidentally picked up a bit of seaweed, tasteless grilled aubeegines for £6!!! (damn you £1.50/kg salad bar!) Nice lunch today though, and tres quick too!

Ended up getting a lovely big American Apparel circle scarf in black, i already have the tie-dye one and am IN LOVE with the plain black one, its the biggest softest piece of jersey i've ever worn. Also scored the Ss American Apperican t-shirt. AAGIAN, am in love.

And.... this dress....

A bargainous £39.99 from ZARA.

Was a pricey day, but one of the funnest time i've had with da muddah and sistar in quite a while. There is some issues that are getting pretty hard to handle with my twin at the moment (yes, I HAVE A TWIN!) and i guess it was nice to take some time out.

FABULOUS-ITY

YES, Yes that is indeed a word. And i love it, it's just FAB.

Freya over at Brit Chick Runs is hosting an incredibly generous giveaway of a box of heaven. no literally, it's heaven..... errr, in the form of raw nuts, fruit and flavours AU NATURAL. Mock me all you want, but the Nakd bars ARE pure heaven, they actually taste way better than any chocolate bar (especially my favourite flavour, cocoa orange, terrys chocolate orange? BITE ME!)

Anyway, it's only available to us privileged UK bloggers and readers so get entering.

Have an excellent day!!! xx

(FYI, on the camera lead front, i haver MADE HEADWAY... pictures of hot steamy porridge, beetroot curries (OMG to DIE FOR), new red ZARA dresses and TK Maxx baragianous margains are coming... to a screen near you.)

Wish list Number 2... Now I'm getting greedy

I just want 'em all! The rusty coloured tea dress was sitting contently in my shopping bag, £15 and perfect for a Monday pick-me-up-purchase (feeling hot on the Ps today, obviously..) and SHOCK HORROR, i went to look at it and it had sold out! Same with the TOPSHOP cable knit jumper. BOOOO. The Miss Selfrdge bag is a bit of a stretch at £45, but really that's only 2 £20 notes and the cost of lunch at M&S. (FYI, this is my most used reasoning strategy, its genius, no?)

Tonight i made a frankly genius beetroot / butternut squash curry. Shouldn'ta worked... but guess what? BOOOYA, IT DID. Another vegetarian dish that won over my family, if onlky for a short while before the leftover chilli came out..... Don't be under any false impressions, i'd already had that dish of gorgeousness for lunch.... ;)

Cocoa Loco

I think i have already had at LEAST 3tbsp of cocoa powder this morning. And... yes, it IS only 9.30am. But that's irrelevant. Yesterday, i made an idea i saw on this blog on how to make a healthy Reese's peanut butter cup. Of course, i didn't have any chocolate protein powder to hand and OF COURSE i had no peanut butter either (need to get ON that tonight, whole foods here i COME) So i just mixed cocoa powder with warm about 1 tbsp warm water and some cacoa nibs (a GREAT IDEA OF MINE!) then plonked on a tsp of hazulnut butter (gah, AMAZEMENT!) and then topped with the rest of the chocolate and bunged it in the freezer in some cling film.

Well, i forgot about it (yeah, must learn how to do that again, normally i can't WAIT for things to set / cook / cool before devouring - which, FYI, normally ends in some kind of burnt mouth, food poisoning, underpar baked good...) and.. well i remembered this morning but it was frozen solid.

So.... i put it in the microwave for a mere 10 seconds, but alas, twas ruined. But still amazing.

Moral of the story.... MUST. NOT. FORGET. HOW. POWERFUL. THE. MICROWAVE. IS.

I'm having a bit of a dilemma at the moment, well not really a dilemma. I went to see a nutritionist the other month about some digestion issues and she has put me on a strict no sugar no artificial sweetener diet. THE ONLY issue i'm having with this, and i mean the only, is that i have to limit my protein powder, and be picky about which one i use. My usual Maxitone one (which i LOVE LOVE LOVE, in chocolate and banana) is too heavy on the sucralose, so i'm now using one with less from Holland and Barrett, a soya protein, not whey.

I miss the whey. I miss how good it is! Now, i'm not going to lie, my digestion has got better since limiting these artificial sweetener, but since i used to be an aspartame JUNKIE (sprite zero, sugar-free chewing gum, sweet 'n low were STAPLES in my diet... glad they're gone!) would introducing JUST the sucralose ridden Maxitone back into my diet, even just once a day be such a bad thing?

What a pointless spiel. Anyway, on the bright side, i have acquired (rather sneakily, i might add) my mum's camera so we may actually be able to get some GORGE pictures! woohoo! Just need the connector lead. Mission numero dos. Wish me luck, i'm goooooin' in.....

OW GAAWSH

I did a little blog leap when nominated for this award thang that was going around the blog world. Gill over at Snax and the City mentioned a Sarah when nominating for the Stylish Blogger Award and i just NATURALLY assumed she meant another Sarah, i mean its a prettyy common name after all. But not that common that I don't still NATURALLY click on someone with the same name as me. (who DOESN'T do that... whatever.. anyway...)

Well, LOOOONG story short, it was me! Bless her! Give her blog a read, especially if you're in England... www.snaxinthecity.wordpress.com

Well i better comply with the rules. Apparently, i have to share SEVEN things about myself... hmmm. Here goes...

1. I have bright red hair. I mean, like really, really bright. It's actually made me more bashful than i was when i had my brown normal hair. Scary stuff. This red.
2. I do believe my favourite places are TK MAXX AND WHOLE FOODS. AND TOPSHOP. Oh God topshop.
3. I go through phases when it comes to breakfast, but always come back to porridge.
4. I am hoping to study Fashion Marketing at uni in London this september. I am so incredibly excited by fashion, but hope to fuse my interest in clothes and fashion with the knowledge that i have on nutrition and wellbeing in my career.
5. I am so happy that i enjoy exercise.
6. I have a twin. NO WE'RE not identical and SO SO SO SO different. We tend to be identical.. just at different times. It's like i'm 6 months ahead of her sometimes.
7. I was HANDS DOWN OBSESSED with Noel Fielding at one point. As in, i would plan, (and go on) trips to Camden in london just on the chance that i would run into him. And we would fall in love. Yeah, we had a thing. Ya know, he just wasn't ready to commit... so, i obviosuly had to leave him behind..... obviously.

Right so i am goign to give this award to follwoing bloggers, some of whom have inspired me int he past when i have felt absolutely lost, ABSOLUTELY LOST and broken. Some of these women have provided me with some STAPLE recipes in my diet, and some are just HILARIOUS, here goes.... (like Gill, some of these aren's 'new' as such, but they're just the blogs that i clock in on regulraly and look forward to new posts, some arent ALL healthfood / exercise relatd though...)

• Lynn (a genuine and honest actress, and a talented one to boot)
• Eating like a horse (Honestly, her posts make me LOL)
• Freya (lovely fellow brit with a relatable (is that a word?!) take on life!)
• MuesliLover (great inspiration)
• Angela (hands down gorgeous and inspirational, LOVE HER)
• Alex (given me SO MANY IDEAS FOR RECIPES, cannot thank her enough, and shes gorgeous!)
• Gluten Free Gidget (same as above, and again, she is so pretty!)
• Ashley (fashion blog)
• Emily (Cupcakes and Cashmere - excellent for foodie fashionistas)

Thankyou to all these bloggers for such great ideas and stories. I ahve learnt so much from you all.; Thankyou again to Gill for the original nomination, she gets my vote again!!!

I've been bored this afternoon....

Speaking of... I've just been flipping through this month's ELLE and am SERIOUSLY craving summer. The thought of summer hasn't even flicked through my mind since last september, and i suddenly remember.. ah yes... the faint sight of sun... what's that? Skin?! What is this, skin? I can't see this mysterious stuff under the EIGHTEEN LAYERS OF UNIQLO HEAT-TECH FABRICS.... GOD.

Anyway, immediately i was on ASOS having a sartorial lust session. And would like to make a proposition....

ASOS Espadrilles £10.00 (TOMs preferred.... uk 6)

ASOS Bardot crop top £8.00

ASOS Harley sandals £80.00

Zoe & Morgan YES Ring £83.70 (LOVE)


Black and White Midi skirt £28.00 (err hello, Carrie in Paris Part Une!)

red flippy skirt £30.00

Tailored Rusty Shorts £30.00

Anyone, honestly anyone, don't fight now.... can buy these items for me. Honestly, i know, I KNOW! I'm too kind. Cheers.

x

Eating Like A Horse (what a great name! No?)

Over in another blogsphere, there are exciting goings on. Now this is another blogsphere, not here. Here there is just tumbleweed. And drips of porridge on all my pyjamas. And cocoa powder in my gums. NICE. Anyway, THERE IS A GIVEAWAY, at Eating Like A Horse. A fellow brit. How spiffing! (Screw it, we should just live up to the stereotype, right?)

http://eatinglikeahorse.wordpress.com

You can comment on the post at win yourself a nice lookin Wheat anf Gluten free cookbook
(but don't because i want it!) JOKES. not.

The pancake looks delicious, and just the thing to break me out of my porridge / protein smoothie rut. Owwwww, but its such a tasty rut....

PROTEIN KERAZY

I think i may have boarded the protein express and missed my stop. BUT DON'T PANIC, I'm not, i'm actually kind of happy. I've been making extrax efforts to eat more protein of late...
For example:

Today's eats involved:

Brekky- Smoothie with 2 scoops protein powder, 1 tsp flax seed, soy milk, raspberries, banana and xanthan gum

Post workout (spinning, conditioning, 2 hours) - quinoa ricecake, 4 brazil nuts

Lunch - tofu (1/3 a block) stir fry, 1 container 0% TOTAL greek yoghurt, 1 tsp sunflower seed butter

Snack- chocolate protein pudding THANG, aka 20.8g protein! wowza.

I'm lovin that. And OMG, that TOTAL 0% GREEK YOGHURT SHIZZ!? Where have you been all my life? I'd heard the yanks confessing their love for a brand called FAGE and was in Sainsbury's and realised the TOTAL stuff was FAGE so bought a couple of containers.... So. Goddam. Creamy. Normal yoghurt can get lost.

Oh MY!

I think i may have just eaten my FAVOURITE bowl of oats EVER!
First off, we had ran oat of normal porridge WHOLE oats, so i was in a bit of a tizz, no normal oats? WHAT NOW? I saw a pack of those stone ground 'scottish' oats and thought why not? Well this ridculous pointless story could go on for YEARS, so i'll just say what WENT DOWN.

2 egg whites
1/4 cup stone ground oats
about 3/4 cup skimmed milk
a lot of cinnamon
1/3 a frozen banana **"MELTED" IN THE MICROWAVE TO CARAMALIZE)
a small pour of vanilla powder
a few pieces of chopped dates (aka nature's treacle-y toffee sweets... duh!)
the piece de resistance was a heaped tablespoon of COOKED brown rice (instant rice pudding)
Some water to thin at the end of cooking
And about 1/4 of a pear on da side. Like the best sidekick ever.

Honestly, this was so good, and the two things that DEFO made it were the 2 WHOLE EGG WHITES (woah!) and the brown rice. god, who knew. YUM. Excuse me, i'm about to bury myself in a breakfast routine rut. Goodbye.

Resolutions

1. To use this blog a bit more often (1a) if i manage this, take pictures as well!)
2. To cut out every single last grain, drop and hidden piece of artificial sweetener in my diet
3. To avoid sugar and instead enjoy more nutritional food that will benefit my mind and body
4. To get stronger and fitter in general
5. To bulk up my meals a bit more so i don't need to snack so often
6. Quit my current job completely and get one with WAY more hours
7. Get into my 1st choice uni (Central Saint Martins :))) I can dream...)
8. To save for and take a life changing trip before i go to uni in september (I was thinking a climb of some kind?)
9. Now i just feel like i'm rambling.
10. Oh god i remember why i don't keep new years resolutions...
11. Because i get bored before i even finish the list.

Eh well, here's to trying.

At the end of the day, all i can ask for is to make the best decisions for my health, hapiness and future everyday and be content with what i have in my life. Happy New Year!

January cliche?

You know what i hate about this time of year? How you can turn the TV on and EVERY SINGLE advert is trying to sell you something to lose 4st in a week and diet plans that cost you the earth and just tell you stuff that you cold learn by using some common sense and advice.

Ridiculous. Anyway. My christmas was rather good! I was worried about it for a couple of reasons, last christmas was ruined a little because i just ended up eating and eating and eating, and it pretty much turned into a big binge and i know its TOTALLY normal to eat inconcievable levels on christmas, but last christmas it made it slightly unhappy. Not happy. :(
I was also a bit concerned as i'd gone to see a nutritionist in London for some digestion issues earlier in the month and she told me to avoid artificial sweetener, sugar and white, processed foods "even through christmas". I think i did ok up until christmas - new year, then i think that kinds went out the window. But you knwo what i'm alright, i'm ok, because i had A GOOD TIME BECAUSE of it, i didn't binge to the point of guilt and misery, i just drank, ate and was merry. And to be honest thats all of could have asked for.

Now? Well, NOW? I'm back on the wagon, and i actually couldn't wait, this christmas peroid has been SO DRAWN OUT, for me anyway. The classes at the gym were all crazy and went 4 times last week which was good and helped me get back in the grooove, but my regular ones only just got back to normal last night. Armed with my POLAR FT60 i'm IIINVINCIBLE!

I'm trying to figure out my body and what works well for me at the moment, breakfast before or after exercise? Protein or carby breakfast? Big breakfast, light dinner? And the most important, which is my favourite sunflower seed, almond, hazulnut or peanut butter?! Lots of taste testing needs to be done on this one... just to decide... ya know? YEAH? Ok then, thats agreed.