six healthy eating ideas

A couple of days ago I decided that I was well and truly time to admit to myself that eating naughty treats needed to come to an abrupt end and make way for exercise and healthy eating. It's been a long time since I gave myself any kind of healthy lifestyle plan and dreaming of a summer holiday comes hand in hand with dreaming of a body to go with it too. I'm a vegetarian so nothing I cook ever involves meat or fish meaning I have to think even harder when it comes to cooking up meals that don't look like they are just fit for a rabbit.

I have a brand new Reebok ZR10 treadmill all set up in the spare room, I was slightly worried at first that it may be flimsy as it's for at home use but I've been massively impressed by it so far and love how it's of the same standard of any you'd find in a gym. I will put up a whole post about it along with my routine if anyone is interested.

1 | Grilled courgette and fresh pesto pasta | This dish isn't the healthiest of the bunch but more of a treat meal to curb any cravings. I'd always recommend knocking up some fresh pesto over the stuff you can get in a jar since it's far tastier and healthier too, I like to put plenty of pine nuts and lemon juice in mine. Brown pasta is a much better alternative to white too. 

2 | 5 out of 5 vegetable noodles | If you're based in London and find yourself just too busy to cook up healthy meals every day then definitely check these guys out. You can order a subscription of meals to keep you going for the whole week and steer clear of any greasy fast food options. 

3 | Roasted sweet potato and wholegrain egg fried rice | I've been absolutely obsessed with this meal lately. I peel and chop up some sweet potato then drizzle it with rapeseed oil and whack it in a hot oven until it's brown and tender. For the rice, I pop cooked rice into a frying pan and get it nice and warmed up then crack in an egg and take it straight off the heat so that it's left silky and not chewy. Then I add a splash of soy sauce along with sweet chilli sauce to the sweet potato. 

4 | Mushed up avocado on wholegrain toast | This is my favourite ever snack with a good splash of Tabasco for a spicy kick. Talking of Tabasco, if you're on any kind of healthy eating plan I'd highly recommend getting to like it and adding it to give a hint of heat to any dishes that may be bland without it. 

5 | Naked antioxidant smoothie | I like to drink a bottle of this for breakfast as I find it's much easier than making my own and has tons of healthy ingredients packed inside. It keeps my hunger at bay all the way up until lunchtime and not to mention it tastes yummy too. I'm a big fan of the berry version too!

6 | Wholegrain pasta with spicy fresh tomato sauce, cherry tomatoes and feta cheese | I cooked this up for the first ever time today and pretty much made it up as I went along. I started with garlic in a small amount of oil, then added in San Marzano tomatoes (you all must try these) along with Tabasco and then poured it over cooked wholegrain pasta. Then I just topped it with cherry tomatoes and a sprinkle of feta cheese. I can't even put into words how wonderful this one tasted, fresh and spicy yet healthy at the same time.

I'm very much in need of some more ideas so please do let me know what some of your favourite healthy meals are. 

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how to | up your instagram game

Before I properly got to grips with Instagram and photo editing apps I'd spend ages being envious of how every other blogger seemed to have beautifully bright and vibrant photos. After having made a new rule to never shoot a photo straight through Instagram without editing it first, I think it's safe to say there's been a huge difference in the quality of those little square shaped photos that I put out there. Of course everyone has their own style when it comes to photo editing, some like warmth, while others prefer cool tones, and so on. 

I always have a checklist in my head of how I edit a photo. First (and most importantly) comes brightness; there's rarely such thing as a good looking photo when the lighting is bad. Next up, I sharpen it up, then add a filter through but always tone it down so it's only just noticeable. There's nothing worse than a potentially nice photo that has been filtered to hell. I sometimes take the saturation down a little bit and add contrast but that's about it. 

When it comes to editing apps that I'd recommend, oddly enough I use Facetune on a daily basis to add in brightness to all of my photos. Although it's supposed to be for smoothing out selfies, the brightness options on there seem to work better than any of my other apps. I always choose filters from VSCOcam, they are the easiest to use and give the best results by far. For any final tweaks I just whack the photo straight into Instagram and play around with it a final time before it gets published. 

There is rarely a badly lit photo that can't be saved with the help of a bit of clever editing, you wouldn't believe how many I take start by looking absolutely dreadful. Check the photos below for evidence!

Before & After

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london zoo and thames river cruise

Last weekend, the people over at The London Pass were kind enough to supply me with a two day pass to wander around the big city with. If you haven't heard of the passes before, think of them like an Oyster card but for tourist attractions instead of the tube. They certainly make life a lot easier if you plan out your day well and work out a lot cheaper than paying for each attraction individually too. 

First up, I headed over to London Zoo. I'd never been before so couldn't wait to go and meet all of the animals, luckily the weather was great and with it being out of season it was much less busy than I imagine it being in the summer. The zoo closes at 4pm in the winter so be sure to plan your day out well otherwise you may end up missing out on some of it as I ended up doing. Sign up for giraffe feeding time too as it's definitely the best experience in there. 

Included in The London Pass is a one day hop-on-hop-off boat tour ticket which allows you to board a boat trip on the Thames from between a 30 minute or 3 hour tour. I'd highly recommend hopping on just before sunset to take full advantage of the London skyline. There's a top deck on the boats meaning you can sit out and get the best views possible, or a lower deck to keep warm in. 

I started to feel rather ill on the second day so wasn't able to make the best of the passes as I'd hoped to, but I've put together a little list below of the places I would have visited if I'd had the chance to.

| The London Bridge Experience (value £24) 

| Tower of London (value £20) 

| Design Museum London (value £12.40) 

| Curzon Mayfair Cinema (value £14.50) 

Priced at £49 for a one day pass and £68 for two days, I'd highly recommend checking them out if you're heading to London for a few days anytime soon. To be a tourist in your own city/country is something I think everyone should fully embrace every now and then, it's so much fun.

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