Holiday Food Diary!

Everytime I go away on holidays I have trouble with my stomach and maintaining a healthy functioning digestive system. 

The most part of this boils down to my IBS and I guess being out of routine. I am very much a regimented kind of person so when away my body seems to get thrown out of sorts. 

Knowing I was going to be away from home for over two weeks I was extra organised, I baked my paleo bread to take away with me, I rang ahead to both hotels I was staying with to ensure they could cater for my dietary requirements and that I would have a fridge in my suite to store my milk. 

Exercise is very important to me to and 

I was determined to keep exercising while away and managed to get a workout in everyday since leaving home with some rest days incorporating some light exercise.

I couldn't be more prepared. 

In France it was very difficult to find meals served without gluten and dairy and everything was served with French fries, rice or spagetti. My meals for that reason were bland and pretty unadventurous. BUT for this reason I had no major problems with bloating or uncomfortable cramping. 

After France I stayed in London with my sister for a few days. This allowed me time to prepare more fresh bread for my trip to Santorini. 

I don't usually eat a lot of bread but when eating out I am quite limited, especially for breakfast and lunch and having my own Paleo bread with me makes life much easier. 

Since arriving in Santorini I have been having some trouble with bloating and I feel very sluggish. I have managed to exercise but I am not feeling as food as I usually would. The good seems quite rich and even though I have been requesting meals without dairy it definitely feels as though something is sneaking into my system. 

Last night I had a local dish of Lamb in lemon sauce, doesn't look very appetising but it tasted great. 

We also sampled some Greek desserts. My boyfriend opted for frozen Greek yoghurt, I went for watermelon sorbet. 

It tasted amazing and there were lots of toppings to choose from, self service too so you could pick and choose to your hearts content. 

We have six more days left and I am going to try stick to raw salads and vegetables to give my stomach a break from trying to digest heavy meats as it seems to be causing me some trouble. 

#paleo 

Eating before a workout, yay or nay?

One of the greatest arguments in fitness and nutrition is whether or not to do cardio on an empty stomach. 

I used to wake up and jump straight into exercising without eating thinking that this will burn more stored fat with nothing in my system.
After some research, I learned this is not the case and I now have a banana and some nut butter. 



Some studies suggest that working out on an empty stomach means fat is burned to provide energy, the downside to that, it may reduce your workout time and intensity, causing muscle loss, and lowering your metabolism.

 There are reports that your body burns roughly the same amount of fat regardless of whether you eat before a workout, but you’re likely to lose strength-building muscles by exercising on an empty stomach. Not only that, without food to fuel your workout, exercise intensity and overall calorie burn are reduced. 

Below are some questions I am often asked by my clients.

Why eat a pre-workout meal?

During a workout, the body burns energy. If it doesn’t have enough energy, it starts to burn body fat or breaks down muscle tissue to fuel the workout. Eating the right meal before a workout can increase energy levels and preserve muscle tissue.

When to eat a pre-workout meal?

To benefit from a pre-workout meal, the body needs to digest it prior to exercising. There is no point in having a steak with vegetables 10-15 even 30 minutes prior to the workout. The food needs to be broken down first and to get the nutrients on their way into the blood stream.

Different types of food require different times for digesting. 

What to eat as a pre-workout meal?

A good pre-workout meal should prepare and enable the body to complete the session. It should contain enough energy and protein to meet the demands of the workout.

Slow-releasing carbohydrate foods will make sure the body gets a steady supply of calories during a workout. They are a more sustained energy source and keep the blood sugar levels stable.

Clean Eating Recipes.

A clean diet is the first step when approaching a new, healthier lifestyle.

Obviously exercise is very important but it all comes down to diet.

I have been getting loads of requests to post recipes for some clean eating meals.

I post most of my meals on my Instagram.
 Follow me @geraldineby10

Below are some recipes from the blog and I will get some new ones up soon.x

Paleo Breakfast Cereal:

http://loveprotectreflecttheskinyourein.blogspot.ie/2014/08/paleo-breakfast-option.html

Paleo Bread:

http://loveprotectreflecttheskinyourein.blogspot.ie/2014/07/recipe-paleo-fluffy-bread.html

Clean Chocolate Fudge Brownies:

http://loveprotectreflecttheskinyourein.blogspot.ie/2014/06/clean-chocolate-fudge-brownies.html

Homemade Clean Muesli:

http://loveprotectreflecttheskinyourein.blogspot.ie/2014/04/homemade-clean-museli.html

Black Bread with Sundried Tomato:

http://loveprotectreflecttheskinyourein.blogspot.ie/2014/03/black-bread-with-sundried-tomato.html

Baked Sweet Potato with Homemade Hummus:

http://loveprotectreflecttheskinyourein.blogspot.ie/2014/03/baked-sweet-potato-and-omega-humous.html

Mediterranean omelette:

http://loveprotectreflecttheskinyourein.blogspot.ie/2014/03/mediterranean-omelette.html

Clean Pizza:

http://loveprotectreflecttheskinyourein.blogspot.ie/2014/03/romantic-italian-meal-for-two.html

Stuffed Peppers:

http://loveprotectreflecttheskinyourein.blogspot.ie/2014/03/stuffed-peppers.html

Gluten Free Pancakes:

http://loveprotectreflecttheskinyourein.blogspot.ie/2014/03/gluten-free-pancakes.html

Beginners diet for HIIT and clean eating!

Abs are made in the kitchen!

This is the link for beginners who are trying to get into a clean eating routine. It has some meal ideas for breakfast lunch and dinner! 

Take a look;

http://www.dailyhiit.com/hiit-blog/hiit-diet/one-week-bikini-body-clean-eating-challenge/

Plenty of other recipes up on the blog and also on my Instagram page

@geraldineby10 

Homemade Super foods Salad.

This is based on a dish prepared for me by my friend recently. 

It's so light and fresh and a great lunch option. 

I have this as my post workout meal on my day off work.

I love it.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Quinoa to 1 cup water

1 tin Chickpeas

1/4 cup Sunflower seeds

1/4 cup Pumpkin seeds

1 tbsp Poppy seeds

1 Grated carrott

1/4 Red onion

1 Pomegranate 

1 Chicken breast

Salt and pepper

Fresh lime juice

1 tsp Parsley 

1 tsp Coriander 

Heated chicken is nice on top too if you like something warm in your salad. 

Craving the wrong foods??

Guilty...

Everyone craves a treat every now and then, it's whether you give in to the temptation or not that counts!

It really works! 

I found this on Instagram and thought it was a great little help when craving things you know won't help your clean eating routine! 

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter for some clean recipe ideas.

Geraldineby10

Slowly try introducing changes, taking on too much to begin with can be daunting and you are less likely to stick with it! 

Always have snacks prepared, that way when you do start craving something you won't go for the naughty easy option.

Start today by introducing more water to prevent dehydration and cravings in the first place and try add at least one portion of protein with each meal! 

My New Diet/ Lifestyle.

Over a month ago I went for some food allergy testing as I had been feeling quite unwell after almost every meal I consumed. This was happening even though I had been living on an entirely gluten and dairy free diet.

I was bloating, cramping up and found I was getting sharp pains in my side.

I had even begun wakening up with a bloated stomach that was normally flat first thing in the morning.

I decided enough was enough and I had some blood tests done and visited a kinesiologist. 

Testing foods is one of the more familar services offered with Kinesiology.  Muscle testing gives you immediate feedback when testing a food.

If you suffer from:

digestive problems

headaches

low energy

if you'd like to lose weight

if you wake up tired

have skin problems

feel constipated

feel irritated, moody or even sad

if you sneeze a lot or have blocked sinuses

feel bloated or suffer other digestive complaints, then I would definitely recommend visiting a Systematic Kinesiologist to test the foods you eat.

I was not surprised to hear the list of food I was intolerant to as I had a good indication as to what was causing me the most discomfort.

I have been advised to avoid COMPLETELY:

All Dairy, all goat produce, all soy produce, Almonds including almond milk and almond meal with I would have consumed everyday, all grains (rye, oats, wheat, whey, corn, millet, rice, spelt), potato, pistaschios, peanuts, cashews, beef and pork. 

Sad face.

Since this I have been extremely strict on myself ensuring none of the above passed my lips.

So far so good and I have never felt better.

Last weekend I was away for a few days for one of my best friend's hen parties. 

This involved serious planning on my behalf to try and ensure I had snacks packed and some bread baked to bring with me for breakfast in the hotel each morning. 

http://loveprotectreflecttheskinyourein.blogspot.ie/2014/07/recipe-paleo-fluffy-bread.html

Most of the weekend revolved around eating out and alcohol which was difficult for me but absolutely worth every second as we had an amazing weekend celebrating and catching up.

When eating out I chose only food I could eat or where this wasn't possible had some of the dishes altered to suit my dietary needs.

This week I will need to train extra hard to make up for the extra calories consumed in the form of white wine!!!

Mint cocoa delights

These are my new favourite addiction.
A great healthy treat, similar to viscounts but clean :)

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 cup hazelnuts
1 cup dates, pitted
1 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder



Filling:
1 avocado, peeled/pitted
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
3-4 tbsp maple syrup
1 banana or ½ cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp peppermint extract

Topping:

4 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder

4 tbsp coconut oil, melted

3 tbsp maple syrup

Directions:
Blend the crust ingredients until it comes together, don’t worry if it’s still a bit crumbly, and press into an 8×8 baking tin lined with parchment paper.



Blend the filling ingredients until smooth and spread evenly on top of the crust.



Freeze for about 10 minutes while your prepare the topping.
In a small bowl mix the topping ingredients until smooth and pour over the middle layer.

1. 
   
2. Freeze bars until firm.
3.  To serve, let thaw for about 20 minutes and cut into squares. 
4. 
   
5. Freeze to store.
6. 
   

 You could also easily substitute the hazelnuts for another type of nut – pecans would probably be delicious.
The first time I made these they were too minty so add the peppermint to taste.