Fitness and Food: August 2014

The beginning of the month is always a good time to make goals, and a new plan for the month ahead.

Fitness

This month I am going to make a 3-day plan. I usually have a 4-day plan but lately have been finding it hard to fit it all in. So this month I am going to try 3 days, and if I fit in an extra day or two, it's just a bonus.

A. Chest/Back
1. Dumbbell Chest Press
2. Barbell Rows
3. Dumbbell Incline Flyes
4. Lat Pulldown
5. Floor Chest Press, one arm at a time
6. Deadlifts

B. Legs
1. Leg Press
2. Hamstring Curls
3. Dumbbell Lunges
4. Calf Press
5. Goblet Squats
6. Leg Extenstion

C. Full Body (Circuit Style)
1. Dumbbell Shoulder Press
2. Russian Twists
3. Jumping Lunges
4. Push Ups

1. Kettle Bell Swings
2. Reverse Crunches
3. Bicep Curls
4. Jumping Squats

Incline Treadmill Walking

I also plan to walk to work when I can, now the weather is slightly better and there is only one more month until Spring!

Food
I have quite a few social things on this month, but I still need to try and eat well and be healthy. I find it pretty easy to get back into bad habits, so I really need to make some healthy habits.

One of my biggest things I need to focus on, is not buying snacks from the supermarket. Pick n mix lollies and corn chips are my biggest downfalls. So my plan to stop that, is if I want a treat, I need to go out somewhere and have a single serving. I.e cake at a cafe, frozen yoghurt at soyo, etc.

I have a couple of dinners planned with friends, my anniversary with my boyfriend, and an awards night with work. Cheat meals are always acceptable in my plans, so I will be able to work them in no problem. A balance of life, and healthy living is so important. My biggest focus will be on snacks.

Now it's getting closer to warmer weather, I'm hoping I will have more motivation and stick to my goals!

Review: Artisana Coconut Butter

In my most recent iherb order (which is quite a while ago...I am in need for another!) I decided to try coconut butter. I never really liked coconut oil, so thought I might like this better. I love coconut.

To be honest, it's not a whole lot different to coconut oil. It does have more of a coconut taste, but the texture is only slightly softer.

It is often used as an oil replacement when cooking, and supposedly this butter version is better for spread. It can also be added to smoothies, energy bars and more.

My favourite way is to spread it onto crackers or toast and sprinkle cinnamon over top.

This raw, organic food is made only from whole coconut flesh. 

A serving size is 2 Tbsp (32g):

Nutrition: 186 calories, 18g fat (16g saturated), 7g carbs, 5g fibre, 1.9g sugar, 2g protein, 10mg sodium.

Obviously high in fat, it is low sugar and has a good amount of fibre.

Taste: A mild coconut taste. You can taste it a lot more than coconut oil, so I prefer it.

Texture: I wouldn't really describe it as "butter" it's more of a softer version of the oil. You can always warm it up to make it smoother. It melts in your mouth, which is nice.

Value: Pretty expensive, but it is raw and organic. I bought it for $11.05 USD on iherb for 454g (16 oz)

Overall: 6/10

It's just okay. For those looking for an alternative to butter and oil, it will be great for those who love coconut and want that subtle taste added to their food. It's good to have in the cupboard, and I prefer this over coconut oil. But I don't think I will be using it too often.

Want to try it out for yourself? You can get your own here, and use my code LDJ484 to get 5-10% off your first iHerb order.

Review: Bean Supreme - Vegetarian Sausages:

After deciding recently to incorporate more vegetarian meals into my diet I bought vegetarian sausages. The Bean Supreme brand (NZ) has three different flavours of vege sausages. I tried out Sundried Tomato and Kalamata Olive.

These (as the company name suggests) are made out of beans - soy beans. The ingredients list for this product isn't too long, and most of the ingredients are ones you would have in your pantry.

A serving size is two sausages, there are 6 in a pack.


Nutrition: 194 calories, 8.5g fat (4.8g saturated), 13.1g carbs, 4.3g sugar, 16.3g protein, 688mg sodium.

Pretty good calories with high protein, and better fat than regular sausages. The sodium is quite high but that's expected.

Taste: These look like real sausages. I just put them in the oven until browned. I first tried them chopped up into a bowl with rice and veggies. I like the taste of the sausages, but for me, this flavour is far too overpowering. A plain flavour would have been much better.

Texture: Like I said above, the texture of these is really good. This flavour has chopped sundried tomato throughout.

Value: These are about $7.00 NZD on special at the supermarket. Probably what you expect for a product like this, and with 2 to a serving you get three meals out of it, which isn't so bad.

Overall: 6/10

I really like the texture of these, but I just didn't enjoy this flavour. It was far too strong and overpowering and ruined it for me. I like sundried tomatoes and olives, but it was just too much. I have since tried the Rosemary and Sage ones and they are better. I'll definitely be buying the other flavours.

Food Review: Ceres Organics - Peanut-Almond Butter

I am a big peanut butter fan. I recently tried Justin's Vanilla Almond butter and loved it. But since my latest iHerb order was looking pretty pricey, I decided to just get a peanut/almond mix from the supermarket.

Ceres Organics is pretty much the only brand of almond butter we have at the supermarket here. 

I had tried their version of cashews before, since cashews are my favourite nut. But I found it was really dry and impossible to spread. But then I later tried a different brand of cashew butter and didn't like it either.

I had high hopes for this one, since it's half peanut butter - and I know I like that!

For my usual peanut butter I use Sanitarium no added salt/sugar.

First of all, there is so much oil in this jar. Even when I stuck a knife in and stirred it round (as it says to on the jar) it is still ridiculously runny. Very hard to spread on crackers etc because it is just so oily. I'm not a big oil fan either, so not a good start.

Ingredients: Peanuts (65%), Almonds (35%), Sea salt (0.5%)

All ingredients are certified organics.

Nutrition: 84 calories, 3.2g protein, 7.7g fat (0.7g saturated), 2g carbs (0.8g sugar), 42mg sodium

I tried it out yesterday on a vita-wheat cracker (with cinnamon, because I'm addicted). I have to say, I'm not a fan.

Taste: I think because I'm used to no added salt that this tastes really salty to me. Even though there is only a tiny amount of sea salt and only 42mg per serve, I can really taste it. You can definitely taste both the peanut and the almonds in it. 

Texture: If you like oily nut butters then this will definitely be a good one for you. However it is far too runny and oily for me, as mentioned above. 

Overall: 4/10

The oil ruins this for me. It has an alright taste, but it won't be something I will use that often and I won't be buying another jar for $10.00 (NZD). I'm better off sticking to my usual peanut butter, and paying a bit extra for Justin's almond butter.

What's your favourite nut butter? Do you prefer more oily ones?

This Weeks Eats - April 20

The easter weekend started off rainy, but today was gorgeous so I had a rest day from the gym and went for a walk in the sunshine.











Afterwards I came home and made a beetroot, pineapple, celery, and ginger juice. Recipe will be up later today.

Breakfast is always my favourite meal of the day, this week I mostly had oats, but the last two days I had greek yoghurt and fruit.









I love both meals since they are so easy to change up every day depending what you have with them.

For easter instead of giving me chocolate, mum gave me some manuka honey.

Coriander is my favourite herb, so I finally bought some real stuff instead of just using the dried herbs. I've been adding it to a lot of meals already.

I love making a healthier version of nachos. This week I made vegetarian ones, but I didn't have any cheese, so I'll wait to put up my recipe for these. I make the chips myself too using mountain bread.












I was doing a lot of work from home after work this week, so a couple of times I just had quick and easy meals like eggs, avocado, and tomatoes on toast.

Hope you all had a great easter weekend!