I bought a huge bag of very ripe bananas from the market on Sunday for £1. I wanted to make some UPF and refined sugar free banana bread. I trawled the internet and found this recipe. I can honestly say it’s the nicest banana bread I have ever had. I have had to slice it and freeze it so that I didn’t pig out on it all in one go. I chose the coconut oil option but I’m sure it’s just as nice with butter!
I like to make sure that I can grab a quick healthy breakfast when I’m dashing out to work. This big jar takes less than 5 minutes to throw together and will last a week or two depending on whether or not a hungry teenager finds it!
First, I layer whatever I’ve got in – here I’ve used oats, mixed seeds, coconut, cashews, walnuts and açai berry powder.
Next, I mix it all up in a bowl
Then ladle it back into the jar
I serve it with natural yoghurt and whatever fruit I have in. Here I have added blueberries, strawberries and a banana. But you can add milk if you prefer and eat it as muesli. I’ll often throw this together in a jar and take it to work to eat there.
I rarely count calorie as I prefer to just avoid UPFs and refined sugar so I don’t know the calorie count but there are 11 different plant points in there so it’s great for your gut microbiome 😃
These are my new favourite treats. The only problem with them is that, although they are “clean”, they are still calorific and I can’t get enough of them. I even tried storing them in the freezer to stop myself from getting through them too quickly, only to find they’re delicious straight from the freezer! 🤣
You can play around with the ingredients, you can’t really go wrong. Try dates if you don’t have cherries and any kind of nut butter would do.
Ingredients
- 100g almonds or cashews
- 100g ground almonds
- 200g dried cherries
- 2 – 3 tablespoons almond butter
- Splash of almond milk (or any milk)
- A splash of almond essence
- 100g Good quality dark chocolate
- 1 desert spoon of coconut oil
Method
- Put the cherries nuts and ground almonds in the food processor and pulse until it’s bread crumb consistency.
- Add the almond butter, milk and almond essence to the processor and mix
- Press the processed mixture into a 20cm x 20cm baking dish lined with baking paper.
- Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a heatproof dish over a pan of boiling water then pour it over the processed mixture
- Refrigerate until the chocolate is set
- Cut into pieces and enjoy
I am absolutely loving these salted caramel bars. They are a bit of a faff to make and mine don’t look as even as hers but they are well worth the effort. I put them in the freezer to try and stop myself from eating them all in one go, only to discover that they are just as delicious straight out of the freezer 🤣 They are the perfect treat that satisfy my craving for something chocolatey and they are made from completely natural ingredients so no UPFs in sight 😃 Sure, dates are a source of sugar but surely it’s better to have this natural source of the sweet stuff along with all of its fibre than the refined white stuff and UPFs found in most chocolate bars?
I use Nibble chocolate chips which are free from the usual emulsifiers that you find in most chocolate so they really are UPF free treats!
I’ve been a bit rubbish at blogging but I thought I should at least post an update 6 months on from my health and fitness coaching!
Where do I start? Well firstly, I’m really proud of myself! I put on weight over Christmas and I put on weight on an all inclusive holiday in March. The holiday weight is gone and the Christmas weight is well on its way! Im currently half a stone heavier than when I finished the coaching but im feeling so great in every other way that I’m OK with that! All my new smaller clothes still fit me.
The biggest achievement is that I’ve only had alcohol on 6 days this year! That means I haven’t had alcohol on 94 days! it’s been a huge learning experience but I’m mostly loving it. I still have moments of really fancying a drink and I did give in on holiday but I’m coming to the conclusion that alcohol gives me nothing and takes away so much. I would never have got here without the support of Beth throughout my coaching. She got me to see things differently and build long lasting habits.
What does alcohol take away from me?
- Sleep – it ruins it
- Heart rate – it increases it
- HRV – it lowers it
- Self respect – it removes it
- Memory – it erases it
- Motivation – it’s crushes it
- Exercise – it stops me from doing it
- Anxiety – it adds to it
The list goes on but you get the picture! I’m a happier, calmer, more motivated version of myself without alcohol.
I’m still not ready to say never again and I’m hanging on the the fact that I can drink the bottle of champagne that’s chilling in the cellar but that just means I need to keep working on myself. I’m not fully recovered but I’m going to carry in reading, listening to podcasts and revelling in the unexpected joy of being sober (to steal a phrase from one of my favourite quit lit books with the same name!) So watch this space!
The ultimate test was going to Day Fever recently. This is a night club experience during the day. Curated by Rob McClure of Reverend and the Makers. I went with 3 drinking buddies and I stayed sober. It was a brilliant afternoon and I danced for 3 hours straight to banging tunes. I even got up on stage to dance. I left early as I had other commitments but I would have (and will next time) stayed longer. It made me realise that if I do things that I love, I don’t need to drink. I clocked up 30,000 steps that day so it was great exercise as well!
I’ve also started a new job since I last posted. I took voluntary redundancy from the university which was a scary prospect but I got a job at Nexus Multi Academy Trust which I am loving at the end of week 4. (Staying sober through the redundancy and job hunting was hugely beneficial.)
Exercise is now just part of my regular routine. I’m running 2 – 4 times a week and doing regular strength and mobility training. I just feel meh if I don’t exercise regularly so it’s a non negotiable.
I’m eating more healthily and I’ve developed the best sourdough starter but that deserves its own post so stick around if you’re interested…….
It’s 55 days since I last had an alcoholic drink and I’m feeling great! I have had very few moments of really wanting a drink and they all passed really quickly! I’ve been sociable including having my own leaving do from the University sober. It was so nice to be able to drive home, get a good nights sleep and get up for a run the next day!
I’ve been reading some great books to spur me along and recommend the following which are great reads:
- The unexpected joy of being sober by Catherine Gray
- Mrs D is going without by Lotta Dann
- This Naked Mind by Annie Grace
- The sober diaries by Clare Pooley
It’s day one of the Reset and Realign One Year No Beer challenge. My exercise today is to write down all the reasons that I am taking the challenge and to put them somewhere easy to refer to so what better place than on a public blog so I can be held to account by anyone reading it! So here are my reasons why!
- After losing so much weight and getting healthier and fitter in 2024, I don’t want to ruin all the good work that I’ve done. If I drink alcohol, even if it’s just one or two nights a week which has become the norm, it slows down my progress and stops me wanting to embrace all the healthy habits that I’ve formed.
- I need to be on the top of my game this year as I am applying for voluntary redundancy and need to find a new career.
- I love running with my dogs and I just don’t feel like it when I’ve had a drink the night before.
My latest obsession is cottage cheese bagels which are so easy to make and, in their simplest form, only have 2 ingredients – cottage cheese and flour! I’ve started experimenting with the recipe and got some great results. They have more protein than your average bagel and no emulsifiers or preservatives. They freeze well and are great sliced in half then toasted the next day.
You can scan this QR code to see the original recipe then I’ll show you my adaptations below.
Pictured below are these three versions:
- Wholewheat and sesame – use half wholewheat flour and put sesame seeds on top
- Cinnamon and raisin – add a tablespoon of cinnamon to the dough then knead in a large handful of raisins
- Mature cheddar and Parmesan – add a large handful of grated cheddar to the dough then add finely grated Parmesan on top
Today is the final check in with Beth after 6 months on her coaching program (which you can find out more about here)
Beth’s coaching has totally and utterly changed my life. In the last 6 months I have lost over 2.5 stone but that is just the tip of the iceberg. I could not have believed 6 months ago that my life could change so much for the better.
Before I started coaching I used to have an internal battle with myself about which 2 or 3 days I would exercise each week. If I managed 1 or 2 workouts/runs then I saw that as a win. I needed Beth to hold me accountable so that I would exercise. 6 months later Beth is lecturing me about the importance of having rest days as I just can’t get enough of exercising!
I initially said that one of my goals was to try and have at least 4 dry nights a week and to drink moderately on the other nights. I have drunk alcohol moderately on 3 nights in the past month and had several months of not drinking at all. What is most amazing about this is that I have loved every minute of it. Why would I get drunk and not be able to get up for a run the next day?? I don’t recognise myself and this is down to the videos, podcasts and coaching that Beth has shared with me. I haven’t had to be a hermit either – I’ve still really enjoyed sober nights out, parties and several camping trips.
Other positive side effects of this coaching are:
- I have more energy
- I sleep much better
- I am happy
- I am calm
- I am mindful
- I rarely get stressed and if I do then it passes quickly as I am much better at taking control of situations
- My blood pressure is normal
- I am more productive at work
- I don’t usually need to get up for the loo in the night
- I don’t hate photos of myself
- I don’t have to wear baggy clothes anymore
- People keep telling me I look great
- I spend all the money I used to spend on booze on clothes (good job I don’t drink much as I can’t stop buying clothes as everything I try on looks great!)
- My dogs are getting great walks/runs
- I’m setting a good example to my kids
- I no longer spend lots of time worrying about my health
- I no longer have constant internal battles with myself about drinking, eating healthily and exercising. It just comes naturally.
- No food is off limits
- I no longer avoid carbs
- I don’t get stressed if my hubby puts a huge glug of oil in the pan when he’s cooking
- I can run up hills without stopping
- I can run 10 km in under an hour
This coaching is the best money I have ever spent and can’t thank Beth enough. Having someone in my corner who is so empathic and passionate about me and my health has been amazing. I’m going to have to carry on attending Beth’s boxercise classes so that I still get my Beth fix every week.
Here’s a before and after shot!
I am astounded at how I managed to do Chatsworth 10K in 56 mins 45 seconds yesterday. With 192m elevation – most of which is in km 2-5 – it was very challenging. Previously my fastest 10km was 69 minutes! 6 months of health and fitness coaching has really paid off!
