A Day in Food

With the stomach straining amount of pancakes, burgers and floppy slices of pizza (my personal favourite, the floppier the better) that have entered my gullet this weekend I thought I’d rewind on the blog today and take you through a day in food for myself pre-NY eating competition, seeing as you all loved that chat about fitness not so long ago. Note: the purpose of my trip was not to enter an eating competition, though it sometimes felt like it was and I had to fly home with my jean zipper undone. On the whole food-wise I try and stick to ‘Clean Eating‘ principles; making meals from scratch, attempting to steer clear of processed foods and sticking to produce in its natural state.

It doesn’t always work and I like to stick to the 80:20 ratio, making healthy choices 80% of the time and loading up on whatever the hell I like for the other 20% (that’s the good stuff that gets Instagrammed). The odd Malteser (or a whole treat bag of ’em) tips the 80% barrier sometimes though and I’m unable to watch The Great British Bake Off without scoffing on a pack of Custard Creams. But the key’s in moderation, right? Now heads up; I’m no nutritionist and this menu by no means demonstrates a perfectly well-rounded day of food. It’s more just a collection of recipes that I like to don my apron for. Sometimes there’s more meat, more fat, more veg, more carbs…you get it. So lets kick it off with my favourite meal of the day…

BREAKFAST: Five mornings out of seven I’m a Dorest Cereal Tasty Toasted Spelt Flakes and Alpro Unsweetened Almond Milk kinda’ gal, but when I’ve got a bit of time on my hands I partake in my own pancake party. But not just any pancakes – oh no – these are Clean and Lean pancakes (from the Clean and Lean Book by James Duigan). A mix of eggs, oats and ricotta, cooked up in coconut oil and drizzled with natural yogurt, agave syrup and berries. The Breakfast Club Berries and Cream Pancake Stack they are not. But they’re actually very nice.

SNACK: Nakd bars – probably one of my favourite discoveries food-wise this year. Mooshed up fruit and nuts – nothing added, nothing taken away. They’re a pricey habit, but I love ’em; I have a sweet tooth and having one of these mid-morning satisfies it nicely. They may not look much, but trust me on this one. Cocoa Orange and Cocoa Mint are my personal favourites and after scrutinising the ingredients list, blending up a batch of my own is my next on my kitchen to-do list.

LUNCH: Whereas the beginning and final meals of the day follow a regular-ish menu, lunch is where I mix it up a little. If I’m in I tend to go for something salad-y or wrap-y - 9 times out of 10 it includes rocket. But my favourite thing to cook right now are Mini Pizzas with Beetroot and Goats Cheese topping (featured on the cover of Honestly Healthy by Natasha Corrett and Vicki Edgson if you’ve ever seen it). With a spelt homemade base (so quick to make), garlic and tomato sauce and a few slabs of beetroot thrown on top these taste SO GOOD. I make a few at a time and heat up the leftovers for lunch the next day.

SNACK: Homemade Hummus is just d’bomb. So much nicer than the shop bought stuff, plus you can add as much garlic into the blender when you’re making it yourself (I usually go for four cloves – hardcore). I use this recipe from Hanna’s blog, throw everything into a blender and serve with something crunchy. It keeps the worms from biting until…

DINNER: Surprisingly dinner is one of the more snappier meals I cook. I’m a big believer of ‘feeding the freezer‘ – cooking up batches of sauces and stews to freeze so that I can whip them in the microwave to defrost, rustle up some veg and a side and serve. One of my current favourites is Chickpea and Sweet Potato Stew, again from the Honestly Healthy book. Ridiculously easy to make and luverly with a bit of broccoli and brown rice. Sometimes I add a bit of chicken into the mix if I fancy upping the protein levels, but mostly I stick to the original cause it’s so darn cheap to cook up.

Oh and on this particular day I snuck in a Rachel’s Organic Rice Pudding before bed. Sticking with the 80:20 thing and all. Hungry? Yeah, me too.