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Planning is Key: Meal Plan

May 10, 2015

I’ve said it many times before, but planning is key to success in anything, and especially in maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle. This past week, I have been overindulging more than usual and I can tell that if I do not curb my eating back soon, it will start to physically show. Although I have been overindulging in healthy foods (with the exception of some ice-cream from Bi-Rite Creamery and many a tortilla chip at my graduation party), you will gain weight and fat from overindulging in anything. Okay, maybe not lettuce and celery. But you get the point!

What Is My Game Plan?

My usual method of getting back on track is to have a day or two of having a diet high in protein and fat, and lower in carbohydrates, before switching back to my normal routine of moderate carbohydrates, protein and lower in fat (an example of a breakfast I would have during this time is poached egg, smoked salmon with tomatoes and broccoli, as seen below). I use the Clean and Lean recipes by James Duigan whenever I do this.

clean and lean smoked salmon and poached egg breakfast

This is just what works for me personally, and you need to experiment to see what suits your body best. As much as I love foods higher in fats, I find that I feel more happy, balanced and satisfied when I can include more carbohydrates into my diet. I also make sure to start my day off with a cup of green tea (either using green tea bags or matcha green tea powder) and a slice of lemon. 

My Personal Meal Plan

So during the weekend, I decided to do two days of eating a higher amount of fats and protein with lower amounts of carbohydrates. If you follow me on Snapchat, you would’ve seen what I was eating (username is honestlyfitness)! To give you an idea of what I was eating, I had my usual poached eggs, tomato and asparagus with 1 slice of marble rye toast with smashed avocado for breakfast, superfood spinach salad with Indian spiced chicken, and zucchini pesto pasta for dinner. During the course of this week, I will be transitioning back to what is a ‘normal’ diet for me, with the focus on sticking to specific portion sizes. Last week, I ate similarly to this but kept adding on more … dark chocolate at night, couple of casual medjool dates, tons of pistachios, more bread. You get the point, and hey what can I say, I am human but I know when it is time to get back on track 🙂

Monday
Breakfast: Boiled egg with roast asparagus and marble rye bread with smashed avocado
Snack: Medjool dates and matcha green tea latte
Lunch: Chicken quinoa stir fry with broccoli and peas
Snack: Greek yogurt with apricot
Dinner: Zucchini pesto pasta with shrimp

Tuesday
Breakfast: Overnight oats with pecans, chia seeds, ground flax seed, and chocolate protein powder
Snack: Banana (or other fruit) with almond butter
Lunch: Chicken and spinach salad with avocado, sunflower seeds and pepita with simple olive oil dressing
Snack: Marble Rye Bread with broiled and sliced tomato + non-fat latte
Dinner: Off The Grid, food trucks with my friends

Wednesday
Breakfast: Poached egg with roast asparagus and marble rye bread with smashed avocado
Snack: Hazelnuts and medjool dates
Lunch: Chicken quinoa stir fry with broccoli and peas
Snack: Greek yogurt with apricot
Dinner: Baked salmon with vermicelli and vegetable mix

Thursday
Breakfast: Overnight oats with pecans, chia seeds, ground flax seed, and chocolate protein powder
Snack: Marble Rye Bread with broiled and sliced tomato + non-fat latte
Lunch: Chicken and spinach salad with avocado, sunflower seeds and pepita with simple olive oil dressing
Snack: Banana with almond butter
Dinner: Zucchini pasta with marinara sauce and shrimp (may not have this depending on how much I eat at my class’ potluck!)

Friday
Breakfast: Poached egg with roast asparagus and marble rye bread with smashed avocado
Snack: Greek yogurt with mango
Lunch: May have lunch with friend, otherwise will buy fresh BBQ chicken rolls
Snack: Cashew Cookie Larabar
Dinner: Making dinner with my housemate, most likely zucchini pasta!

I usually plan up until Friday, and then plan on what I will be eating over the weekend on Thursday or Friday.

What Do You Do?

Do you find that making a meal plan helps you? I find that most times, I do not have to physically write down what I will be eating during the week, but that I definitely have to think about what I want during the week and go grocery shopping and do food prep on Sunday. Would be curious to hear how you guys go about eating healthy while staying happy and balanced 🙂

Honestly yours,
Alice

Thank you for always supporting me! For more Honestly Fitness, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest and don’t forget to subscribe!

Friday Fare, Health, Healthy on the cheap, Products I love

Matcha Green Smoothie

May 8, 2015

 Mmm, matcha green smoothies. Now that the weather is warmer again, I have gravitated towards having good ol’ green smoothies again. I have been using the same green smoothie recipe for ages and feel as if I have completely perfected it. It is healthy, creamy and delicious all in one and such a good and easy way to sneak in some vegetables. And seriously, it’s hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t like them if you give them the right green smoothie to try. I clearly remember giving my husband his first green smoothie and smiling with glee at the fact that he actually liked it! He was SO sure he would hate it (“Alice, it’s green”) but even he had to admit it was “alright, pretty good.” Men, haha!

Matcha Green Smoothies

Matcha Green Smoothie

I have been on a matcha spree recently (remember my matcha yuzu mango mint popsicles?) and wanted to incorporate matcha green tea into a lovely green smoothie for you all. Matcha green tea is such a healthy and flavorful ingredient; unlike most green teas, matcha green tea powder is made from ground green tea leaves. Although normal green tea (where you steep the tea bags in tea) are great, research has shown that the amount of antioxidants in matcha green tea are at least three times higher than most other varieties of green teas. Amazing! See why I wanted to make matcha green tea recipes for you all?! I experimented by adding the lovely matcha green tea powder from The Republic of Tea in two different ways into my green smoothie recipe. Both turned out wonderfully so I wanted to share them with you all. 

Matcha Green Smoothie

Matcha Green Smoothie

Matcha Green Smoothie

Alice Williams
A delicious and antioxidant rich matcha green smoothie; the perfect refreshment or snack.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 tsp of The Republic of Tea matcha green tea powder OR 4 matcha green tea ice cubes made by freezing 1 cup water mixed with 1tsp matcha green tea powder
  • 1 cup frozen banana slices
  • 1 handful spinach approx. 1 cup
  • 1 small tub plain Greek yogurt
  • Dash of unsweetened almond milk approx. 2-3 tbsp
  • Optional
  • 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 tsp chia seeds

Instructions
 

  • Blend all the ingredients together and either drink now or store in the fridge for later! Do not store for more than one day.

Notes

Add more unsweetened almond milk if mixture is not blending properly.
I used Stonyfield Plain Greek Yogurt
I used a Ninja blender
Matcha Green Smoothie

Matcha Green Smoothie

This matcha green smoothie is really lovely for breakfast, as a snack or as a healthy dessert. Basically, it is amazing anytime of the day, haha! I really hope you enjoy this quick, easy and healthy recipe. Healthy eating does not have to be time consuming nor does it have to be boring and tasteless. The possibilities are endless and I am so excited you are letting me help you become the healthiest and happiest version of yourself. It really means the world to me and I thank you so much for your support of my blog and my social networks!

Honestly yours,
Alice

Thank you for always supporting me! For more Honestly Fitness, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest and don’t forget to subscribe!

Disclaimer: The Republic of Tea provided me with the matcha green tea powder but I received no financial compensation for this post. Rest assured that my opinions will always stay unbiased and that I would never recommend a product I don’t personally use or like.

Friday Fare, Health, Products I love

Matcha Yuzu Mango Popsicles With Mint

April 27, 2015

Summer is fast approaching and the weather is heating up fast! I have been absolutely loving the longer, warmer days and as such, my appetite has adjusted along with the weather. This past winter (not sure I can really call what San Francisco had winter though), I have been living off of warm zucchini pasta, soups, teas (best tea EVER) and oatmeal. I admit that while my love for these foods lasts year round, light and cool foods such as smoothies, fresh rolls and ice-cream have been calling my name.

Matcha Yuzu Mango Popsicles With Mint

Sure, I will have the occasional cheat meal (what’s up Ben & Jerry’s), but since I try to keep things healthy around here, I have become quite creative in my attempts to make desserts that are both healthy and delicious. I am absolutely obsessed with matcha green tea, and when I was younger I would always get the sugary and highly calorific green tea frappes from Starbucks and matcha green tea ice-cream whenever I could. 

Matcha Yuzu Mango Popsicles With Mint

I was thinking hard as to how I could make a matcha dessert using the Republic of Tea’s matcha yuzu powder (what a freaking amazing combo, right?!) that was delicious, healthy AND unique. I like to make things easy for myself, don’t I lol? And then suddenly it hit me: popsicles!! I feel as if popsicles are THE epitome of summer 🙂

 Recipe

Matcha Yuzu Mango Popsicles with Mint

Alice Williams
A refreshing and healthy popsicle for summer made of mango, mint and matcha yuzu from Republic of Tea.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tsp matcha yuzu powder from Republic of Tea
  • 1 1/2 cup frozen mango cubes can be found in most supermarkets
  • 3 large or 5 small mint leaves
  • 1 small tub plain greek yogurt I used Stonyfield
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 tbsp honey

Instructions
 

  • Firstly, get your popsicle molds out and ready to be used!
  • Put all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. This could take a few minutes depending on your blender.
  • Pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze it overnight.
  • The next day, run the popsicles under hot water for a few seconds to easily take the popsicle out of the mold.
  • Eat and enjoy!

Notes

Almond milk can be subbed for other milks but may affect taste.
Greek yogurt can be subbed for dairy free yogurt such as coconut, but may affect texture and taste.
Honey can be subbed for sugar-free sweetener such as stevia.
Matcha Yuzu Mango Popsicles With Mint

I dare you not to like these Matcha Yuzu Mango Popsicles With Mint 🙂 Please let me know what you think about it if you do try it either by commenting below or giving me a shout on social media. 

Honestly yours,
Alice

P.S. The popsicle molds are Zoku Classic Pop Molds. I absolutely recommend them!

Thank you for always supporting me! For more Honestly Fitness, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest and don’t forget to subscribe!

Disclaimer: Republic of Tea provided me with the matcha yuzu powder but I received no financial compensation for this post. Rest assured that my opinions will always stay unbiased and that I would never recommend a product I don’t personally use or like.