Hello, everyone!
Caroline Oldham
So we are already into February, time really does fly, I hope you are all going to continue with your healthy meal plans as the year goes on, a lot find it is ok just to detox in January but really it is better just to be consistent throughout the year, this will eliminate 'yo-yo' dieting which can be really harmful to the body and also will keep your weight more level.
If you aren't big into exercise you don't have to do much but its good to make your heart level rise with exercise for about 20mins every day. My tips, if you don't like the gym or you aren't into running, is buy a skipping rope and do 20mins of skipping, burpees are a great way to get the heart rate going you could do 10mins of burpees and 10mins of jumping jacks. If you carry out this small amount of exercise per week you will notice a difference.
You all know by now, I love sharing my product finds with you and this week I want to share Nutribix. Nutribix is the first of it's kind, it is gluten and wheat free equivalent to 'Weetabix' but without the 'Weet' bit of course!I was so excited about this product and I know a lot of you will be too; again products like this make us feel like we can eat the same as others do and I think the shift in the gluten-free market has been wonderful over the last few years.
I had mine drizzled with some oat milk and some blueberries and it was delicious, although it has been 12 years since I have had anything gluten, it tastes exactly how I remember it, the milk turns it sludgy fairly quickly so if you like it harder, less milk but if you are like me and like it soft then add lots of milk to it. You won't be disappointed. Check their website for stockists now.
Do you have a busy lifestyle and struggle to make good, delicious and healthy food in the evening? Here is one of my favourite vegan stir-fry's, which is a regular in my house. http://blog.biteappy.com/blog/vegan-stir-fry/
Restaurant Hangout of the Week
This weekend I headed up to Manchester to see what they had to offer, I went to some great and not so great places, Grill on the Alley in Manchester is a popular spot in the city and it won't disappoint with a full allergen menu at your hands and lots of helpful staff, I really enjoyed it. However, my restaurant hangout was Hawksmoor, a bit more towards the pricey end, which is why I mix up my eating out places. Just because they are expensive doesn't make them good, in fact, most of the gems I find are small family run restaurants, most which have experienced allergens or intolerances within the immediate family.
Hawksmoor, if you like upmarket will not disappoint, the setting is similar to London Air Street and the food just as good. Although they didn't produce me with an allergen menu the staff had definitely had training, I spoke to the manager afterwards who said how important it was for everyone to know what is in ingredients when serving food, refreshing to my ears! I couldn't have the bread so they bought me some olives and peanuts to nibble on! I was instructed what I could have and when I questioned other options I was given a detailed answer as to why I could not have it. We just had a main course and I had bone on prime rib steak with some lemon and garlic spinach and a side salad.
The food was full of flavour so well cooked and presentation was beautiful. Then came the ultra exciting bit, I don't even get my hopes up with a pudding being gluten free and lactose intolerant but the waitress was so keen for me to be able to eat something they adapted one of their desserts. Meringue with shaved dark chocolate scattered with cherries in their juice and some wonderful cherry sorbet on top! It was absolutely delicious and the presentation was wonderful it had so much work put into it. I would highly recommend visiting Hawskmoor if you haven't and the manager is aware of Biteappy so make sure you review your experience.
Top Tip of the Week
If you are egg free and dairy free and miss mayonnaise there are plenty of ways to make your own. I have a dairy free, paleo style one on my blog but you can also make it without eggs if you like.
Tagged in Caroline Oldham