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fiber

Health, Products I love

What is the F-Factor Diet?

May 19, 2018
young-women-stretching

With summer coming up, I’ve been determined to lose my “winter bulk” and comfortably fit into all of the clothes I bought during the winter in anticipation of summer! While I am aware that I am a healthy weight, and in reality didn’t have much weight to lose, I felt a little uncomfortable as a result of eating pretty much whatever I wanted for the past few months.

Here’s where fiber enters the picture. About a month ago, I adopted the F-Factor lifestyle of eating a diet high in fiber and I’ve seen wonderful progress in a fairly short amount of time.

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Health, Products I love

5 Healthy Foods I am Loving!

October 15, 2014
top 5 healthy foods I am loving

For the record, in this post I am not telling you that you NEED to be eating these foods. I am simply sharing what 5 foods I like and always seem to be eating, as a way to share their nutritional benefits with you and to inspire you to include these into your diet. Some of you may already know and eat all of these, but I am sure there are a few out there who haven’t tried them or do not eat them regularly. And here at Honestly Fitness, I want to help everyone 🙂

1. Brown rice

brown rice is a really healthy food and a great source of carbohydrates

 Brown rice is such a powerhouse of a grain. I like eating it because it has more texture than white rice, is a good source of fiber (de-bloating, ahoy!) and is a complex carbohydrate. As such, it helps to keep you fuller for longer. It is also full of vitamins and minerals such as iron (important for the ladies), vitamin B-6, and magnesium. 

 2. Strawberries

strawberries are a really healthy food and low GI

 Okay so I truly hope all of you reading this post have tried strawberries before! Strawberries are such tasty gems of a fruit, and very healthy for you too. They are also full of vitamins and minerals, are low in calories, and has a lower sugar content than many other fruits.

  3. Oatmeal

oatmeal is a healthy food and makes for a great breakfast

Mmm, this was most certainly an everyday staple during the winter when I lived in England and still something I eat at least twice a week. Not only are they a comforting and heath breakfast, they are also high in iron, high in fiber, and low in sugar. I normally have rolled oats with some skimmed milk and berries when I do have it for breakfast, and it honestly keeps me full and satisfied for hours. 

And yes, the oats in the photo on the left are the ones I use to make my oatmeal 🙂

  4. Asparagus

asparagus is a healthy food and has a lot of fiber

 Hehe, okay so my love affair with asparagus took a while, but now I am madly in love with it! I found that baking asparagus with a small amount of olive oil, pink himalayan salt and black pepper created a mouthwatering dish. Like most vegetables, they are low in calories, but they are also high in fiber (seeing a connection here?) and have a variety of minerals and vitamins including potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron and more. I dare you to not like asparagus after making it the way I like it 😉

5. Coconut water

coconut water is a healthy food and packed with electrolytes

 Having lived in Asia my whole life, I was surrounded by fresh coconuts and enjoyed their delicious flesh and coconut water almost daily. Since moving first to England, and then to the US, I have been pretty disappointed in many of the commercial brands of coconut water … they do not taste like fresh coconut juice! I always order a coconut if I see it on a restaurant menu. Finally after endless searching, I found a bottled coconut water that has my seal of approval; Harmless Harvest coconut water! It tastes JUST like the real thing. Some of their waters are pink, which I would love some more explanation about, as I have never had a fresh coconut with pink coconut water … Anyway, coconut water is fabulous because it has a bunch of vitamins and minerals, and is great to have if you are craving something sweet. Have it in moderation though, as it is fairly high in sugar.

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Let’s see, today I have had 3 out of the 5 foods I just posted, haha! Oh, I truly am a creature of habit. I love my healthy lifestyle, and I love these healthy foods. What are your favorite 5 healthy foods?

Honestly yours,
Alice xx

Friday Fare, Health

Blueberry Honey Chia Jam

September 6, 2014

Sounds cool right? I have been eating this blueberry honey chia jam for a few weeks now and I absolutely love it! I adapted My Whole Food Life’s recipe and used honey instead of maple syrup, although at first I did test it out with sugar-free maple syrup (from Nature’s Hollow). I personally did not find it as sweet as I would like it to be so I used honey the next time round and it came out perfectly to my taste 🙂

Blueberry Honey chia jam

So what makes this blueberry honey chia jam special? Most commercial varieties, such as Smuckers, tend to use sugar sources such as high fructose corn syrup or just plain old white sugar. I love using honey as a sweetener because not only does it have a fantastic and thick texture, it also contains a variety of minerals and chemicals.

This jam also contains chia seeds (my loves) which are a rich source of fiber, protein, healthy fats (omega-3s), vitamins and minerals. Because of their high fiber and protein content, I have found that chia seeds help keep me fuller for longer. Another bonus (like we need more) is that they are low in calories; 1 tablespoon is roughly around 60 calories!

Blueberry Honey Chia Jam

Anyway, point being is that I loooove this jam! It is yummy, filling and super healthy. Plus, it is a fantastic way to use up any fruit which you think may go off soon. I had a BUNCH of blueberries and was panicking about how I was going to finish them, and so the discovery of chia jam was a blessing.

Blueberry Honey Chia Jam Recipe

Blueberry Honey Chia Jam

Alice Williams
A delicious and healthy way to make jam that is full of fiber!
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Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups bluberries
  • 2-3 tbsp honey
  • 1/4 cup chia seeds

Instructions
 

  • Blend all of the ingredients together in a food processor
  • Transfer to a jam jar or equivalent container and then leave in the fridge overnight to thicken and set

Notes

Adapted from My Whole Food Life

Feel free to substitute in different fruits, and if you do let me know how they turn out!

 Hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of Friday Fare! Please remember to subscribe to Honestly Fitness if you enjoy my blog posts and please share the posts and recipes with your friends and families. This chia jam is sure to be a winner with everyone!

Honestly yours,
Alice