Paleo Cafe - Bondi Junction

ESPECIALLY if you've been living in a cave, you would have heard of the Paleo lifestyle or way of eating (See what I did there hehe).

A Paleo or Primal lifestyle refers to living as humans "presumably" lived in the paleolithic era. I wont pretend to be an expert, but the diet itself involves eating plenty of meat, fish, fruit, vegetables & nuts, while trying to avoid all processed foods, dairy, sugars, grains or just generally those foods with a high glycemic load.

Although the way I eat aligns fairly closely with this lifestyle during the week, i'm not quite ready for the whole haul and really enjoy the occasional piece of bread or potato and love my morning oats & granola. It is still a way of eating i find has some really very good points as it encourages the consumption of good fats, leafy greens and meats, along with many other healthy foods, but I have also seen it referred to as a fad diet, which is quite true, as by definition that includes cutting out any major food groups.

Anyway.. I digress..

This morning I caught up with a good friend for breakfast in Bondi Junction. When she suggested the Paleo Cafe, I was keen to try it out, as i had been since i saw it floating around social media.

We both ordered the free range eggs (poached) and avocado on paleo toast, although what is in the toast is not described in any detail.

The meal was presented quite well, although I thought that almost a full avocado was possibly a bit much for one portion. The eggs were tasty & the toast was ok, not that I had much to compare it to as this was my first time forraying into the area. My friend who has followed the lifestyle for some time, was much less of a fan.

After being won over by Palate's, Soy Chai Latte last week, I thought i'd try their version with coconut milk.

To be honest it was just horrible, one of the worst coffees I have ever had. It was WAY too milky & with really only a hint of cinnamony taste. I dont know if it was the use of coconut milk too, but the seperation that occured between liquids at the bottom of my coffee, made it look even less appealing.

I then tried a Refresh Juice, which had Apple, Lime, Mint & Coconut Water. Again, i wasn't really blown away, it was pretty average. Alot of fluff and not much substance.

 

Would I go back? Maybe. Some of the other items that came out to those around us looked pretty good (including the paleo pancakes), and they have a pretty big variety of options, for lunch too - (see full menu here) But witha variety of other great healthy options in the Eastern Suburbs, I certainly wont be rushing back.

My Melbourne Foodgasm

Long time no speak my beautiful friends!

Over the last weekend, I had the joy of visiting gorgeous Melbourne with my lovely husband! Ahhh holidays and the joy of disposable income.

It was a very luxurious weekend of pure overindulgence. Although I ate and drank waaaay too much I was lucky enough to visit some very special places to eat.

As you would already know, I am a bit of a foodie (ok I am obseesed with food!!) and as much as possible, attempt to live a healthy lifestyle and I love to try new things. I did a fair bit of research to make sure I got the most out of my trip, and dragged my hubby along to some different places - with the promise of great food, but without telling him the scary words like raw, organic or vegan!

Here are some of my best recommendations.

*note - i didn't realise I would be including this on my blog at the time, so didn't take the greatest food pictures or many of the interior of the places. I also didn't really spend too much time rating the coffee either (hey-whatever it was, it was better than Sydney) .

Sails on the bay - Elwood
http://sailsonthebay.com.au

We were lucky enough to be staying with a lovely family friend, who took us out for a special evening on Saturday. He tried to get us in to Stokehouse, but they could only fit us in at a ridiculously early hour for a short period of time, so the runner up was Sails on the bay! but I can certainly say it was hardly a runner up.

Surrounded by glass, the restaurant which sits right on the beach has beautiful views, particularly as the sun goes down. 

Sunset at Sails on the bay

The interior is set beautifully and the staff are incredibly helpful and friendly

For the entree, I went with the Asparagus and Spring Green Salad, Pea Puree & Quail Egg. Admittedly when I was younger I HATED greens. I had to hold my nose and try and swallow them whole, downing them with water, just so that I could get dessert! When I moved out and started making my own meals and realised there was different ways to prepare them and they eventually have become a staple, to the point where i struggle to have a meal if there isn't something a little green on my plate. It was delicious! The asparagus (which is often over or under cooked) was done perfectly.

For the Main, I found it very hard to choose, but eventually I went with the grilled local bay snapper, soba noodle & wakame salad and seared scallops with champagne vinaigrette. It was phenomenal. I am not kidding! The fish was moist and the scallops were literally the best I have ever had (and I ordered them at Aria in Sydney!)

* note - I also had one of the most gorgeous wines I have ever tried with dinner ( I know, not the healthiest thing ever, but hey I was on holidays!!) I am absolutely no wine connoisseur by any means, but it was fresh and had a slightly fruity after taste. I highly recommend the 2012 Leeuwin Estate 'Art Series' Sauvignon Blanc Margaret River WA. 

Birdman Eating - Fitzroy
http://birdmaneating.com.au

EXHAUSTED on Sunday morning, we got up a little late, and made the trip by train to Fitzroy, to try a small cafe called Birdman Eating. Its a small little place with some exquisite decorations hung from the ceiling and a real warm and comfortable interior.

My husband will attest that I am a huge fan of "brunch" - which lets face it, is just a lazy mans breakfast (and these guys serve it til 5pm - winning!!). So with a menu that included things such as Coffee Panacotta with cocoa granola and milk sorbet, Sourdough toast with Birdman 'blueberry, licorice root & pinot noir' jam, Brioche french toast with marmalade glazed Kaiserfleisch, orange pekoe & maple syrup, or an Omelete with thyme roasted wild mushrooms and whipped persian fetta - it was a huge dilemma for me to make a choice!  

On a slightly chilly, brisk Melbourne morning, I decided to go with something warm (and having had a savoury breakfast the day before and the fact I have a crazy sweet tooth) my choice was the coconut quinoa porridge with banana and dark palm sugar. It was yummy, just sweet enough and very filling, with just the right amount of banana!

I must admit to mild food envy when my hubby's breakfast arrived though.  He ordered the ricotta pancakes with confit caramalized banana, peanut butter (my weakness!) icecream and maple syrup! I snuck in a bite (or two) and it was definitely as good as it looked!

The serving sizes were relatively moderate compared to some of the huge portion sizes available these days.. But that was probably a good thing considering where we were off to for lunch.

Yong Green Food - Fitzroy

After a long morning, lazing around at brunch (hehe) and visiting the "Designing 007 - 50 years of Bond style" exhibit at the Melbourne Museum (Which is open until February 23, 2014 and a must see for big fans of the films) we walked a little more to a place on Brunswick street called Yong Green Food. This quaint little place is literally a blink and you might miss. It caters for a variety of different tastes and needs with many raw, organic, vegan, vegetarian and gluten free menu options. 

It is a lovely place, with a nice atmosphere. The staff were very friendly and helpful and we were fed very quickly, which in my eyes is always a plus.

I started with a fresh cold drink, raspberry blended with a herbal tea of some kind (as i mentioned, didn't take very comprehensive notes as i didn't realise I would blog about it at the time) and chia seeds. It was refreshing, thirst quenching and sweet. For someone trying to drink less of that horrible artificial diet soft drink crap, it was a nice change.

My man decided to "go with it" and as an almost exclusive carnivore, tried a meat free option. The Chickpea korma with brown rice, which I can report, got very positive reviews!

I have started to become quite fascinated with the concept of raw foods, so the huge menu was intimidating and I found it incredibly hard to choose between the mouth watering options. On a recommendation from my waiter - I went with the Rawsagna, and I have to say it blew my mind! It was beautifully presented and tasted fresh and delicious. It was a mix of layered zucchini with mushrooms, avocado, cashew cream and raw walnut bolgnese. 

As I think I have mentioned once or twice, I often think with my sweet tooth and not my brain! So I couldn't leave without trying something from the dessert menu. We eventually decided on the Chocolate Cheesecake (which was raw, organic and gluten free). It was made from Cashew, coconut oil, agave, almonds, sunflower seeds, sultana, dates and coconut! Lets just say it was heaven on a plate and is making me more determined to get my hands on a high powered blender/food processor - are you listening Santa?

Brunetti - Lygon Street
http://brunetti.com.au

Ok, I preface this part of the post with the fact that this is not healthy even in the slightest. I just couldn't leave it out of my Melbourne Food Review. 

Brunetti is predominantly a coffee and cake shop on Lygon street, although it also serves regular meals. Its marvelous and incredible fit out with a tall ceiling and long glass casing filled with extravagant and exquisite Italian patisserie items was enough to make this girls draw drop to the floor.

A friend took us to visit on a Saturday night and this well known place literally had people piling out onto the street, not a spare table in site. We decided on the gelato and a jaffa chocolate orange tart (that embarrassingly was devoured before I could take a photo) was rich and decadent. I think I am still trying to burn off the calories..

Palate - Prahan
http://palate.com.au

On the last morning of our holiday, we slept in as long as possible, missed a few trains and eventually got a cab into Prahan.

Luckily for us Palate Restaurant & Bar offers an ALL DAY BREAKFAST! - Yes this may be my dream.

Enjoying the sun while Sydney suffered
through torrential rain
#SunnySelfie

On quiet little Greville Street - beside from the occasional passing train that is.. We indulged in one final binge before going home and immediately starting that diet I've been promising to do all year.

Palate caters for the increasingly popular paleo diet, has big fresh juices and smoothies, and I can confirm, had one of the most delicious coffees I have tasted.






Again a serious case of food envy when my food partner in crime received his meal. Avocado and fetta on Sourdough, with a side of bacon, because, well who needs a reason for bacon?

I went with the slightly healthier option of the yoghurt pot. Vanilla bean and honey yoghurt layered with berries and toasted maple oat crumble. Both of which were just delicious.

To wash it down, I ordered the "Refresher Juice" - Pineapple, Apple, Watermelon & Mint, and James had the "Frappe" – Double Espresso, Ice, Vanilla Ice Cream (no wonder he wasn't hungry at lunch time)

When we were leaving, I ordered a take away coffee - a soy chai latte, and it was probably the best coffee I had all weekend.

There were so many other places that I really wanted to try, so I think another trip is soon on the cards. 

I have also decided that I am going to start spending a little more time on my blog again. 

I always want to try new healthy food options around Sydney (or when travelling) and I spend a fair bit of time researching and trawling through Google trying to find the best. So hopefully if I can put a lot of things in one place it will help other people who want to make healthy decisions when they are out. 

How to get your "Happily Ever After"

I initially wrote this post for my friends online magazine that she didn't end up using, so I thought I would share it with you all instead :)

From a very young age, we have been inundated with Hollywood images of “happily ever after”.

As a chubby twelve year old I ached and wished for a prince. I used to think that all of my problems would dissolve if I could just find a man to love me. I even developed a crush on Prince Harry at one stage, thinking that maybe I could be royalty all on my own. Hey every little Aussie girl wants their Princess Mary fairytale right?

As I got a little older, I realised that my “happily ever after”, would not just fall into my lap.

Those that know me may roll their eyes. I may be one of the “lucky ones”. I met my Prince Charming at nineteen years old.

My (now husband) even proposed in an incredibly romantic way, getting down on one knee, after an afternoon of strolling through the autumn New York City streets, and ice-skating at Rockefeller Centre. We had a dream wedding and purchased our first home together last year

I am incredibly and phenomenally loved by this exceptionally beautiful man. He made me a more understanding, fair, calm and rational person and taught me to always share what I am feeling. In my few years of dating, I had my fair share of toxic relationships with men, who made me a much lesser version of myself. The best thing about him is that he makes me the absolute best version of myself.

Since being with him, I have not fallen into the trap that some people do, getting comfortable and taking less care of myself. He would love me no matter how I looked, but I think it’s incredibly important to keep fit, happy and healthy for my own well-being. He is incredibly encouraging of me, and having a healthy and happy relationship means that your partner encourages you to do what makes you content and to be the best you can be.

I still have my fair share of self-esteem issues from a childhood of bullying, taunting at the hands of some not so nice people. And truly believe that finding your “happily ever after”, is really about finding yourself, whether inside, or outside of a relationship, and loving yourself.

Your self-esteem and happiness should in no way be tied to whether or not you have a partner. Can your “happily ever after” mean having a life full of self-discovery, personal growth and happiness without a partner? Abso-freaking-lutely.

Can a life dedicated to health, fitness, travel, learning, dedicating yourself to a cause, a passion, a hobby (or whatever your pleasure and self-satisfaction may entail) be YOUR happily ever after?

The deep-rooted, societal belief that to live out your days happily, requires you to be married to your soul mate and grow old together is lovely, but may be outdated and not necessarily for everyone. Some are lucky to find a life partner, someone who will love them unconditionally, but many are lucky to draw this unwavering support from family and friends too. It is important to realise that people that we perceive to have a perfect life are likely to have their own battles and challenges with health, finances or other suffering and loss.

Open your heart and mind to whatever life brings you and have realistic expectations. By my definition, a “happily ever after” is living positively and efficaciously as you define achievement and success and ultimately to love yourself and be content with what you have and who you are.

Tips for getting YOUR happily ever after;

• Do something new, that may scare you at first, but that you have always wanted to do.
• Do things that make YOU happy, and be the best version of you, not to impress other people, but so you feel good about yourself.
• Write a list of the things that make you happy, and refer to this if you find that you are going off course.
• Have realistic goals about what you want to achieve and for your future.
• Be healthy.
• Put your time and feeling into the relationships (friends, family, partner) that make you feel good and less into those that don’t.
• In a similar vein, let go of the things that no longer make you happy, or bring you down.
• Let go of the stereotypical, fairytale notion of “happily ever after”, and have faith that things will fall into place.

A big thankyou to the few girls on twitter who also helped with my research xxx

May Makeover

Hello all of my beautiful readers.

Wow! Its been some time since i have given this blog love! I have no real reason for this other than being very busy with an office re-location, and just not feeling all that motivated in many aspects of my life.

During May I decided that I would take on a "May Makeover".

Feeling fat, frumpy and horrible, I decided to take a more full on clean eating approach. I created a secondary instagram account and started posting what i had for every meal, so that I would be accountable for what i put in my body! I think I did a PRETTY good job only forgetting occasionally to post. I followed a number of other great accounts that were very inspirational and gave me some fantastic ideas for meals.

So how do i feel?

Well I forgot to take measurements, so i have absolutely no idea in that respect. My weight did not change though. I feel that i'm stuck in a bit of a rut, unable to get into the groove and make real progress on how I want my body to look, and how i want my health to be.

I had a great time experimenting with different recipes, and gosh some of the foods i tried were delicious!! (Check it out over on instagram @maymakeover and if you have any questions about recipes, give me a holler). I do believe that i want to continue on this journey, because most of the time, I did feel better internally.

I find that i work best when I have a very specific plan for what I need to do. I believe that I need to change my diet up a bit more, if I am going to start seeing results.

• I am a fruit addict, and although it is very good for you in many ways, it is probably contributing far too much sugar to my diet, they are natures lollies after all! During Summer I could quite easily down 2 punnets of blueberries a day, but the selection is far slimmer at the moment, which makes it harder. I will try and cut down my fruit intake and enjoy more vegetable snacks
• During the colder months, I find that I eat more. Though I have been eating "cleaner", my portion sizes, number and type of snacks and calorie intake has probably been a little more than it should be based on my BMR. I am going to try and eat 3 meals, and a few sensible, well-timed snacks a day.
• Soft drink is my vice. Since I was about 16, I have consumed an unreasonable amount of diet soft drinks. When i lost a significant amount of weight, I found it was helped keep me sane, and feel like i wasn't missing out on sweet things. As we all know, it is basically liquid tar, and not the best thing to have on a regular basis, its addictive qualities do make it hard to give up however. I am going to try and reduce the amount i drink, and go off of it slowly. I drink green tea and coffee, so I don't think I will have the same caffeine withdrawal as Isuffered on the detox.
• At the moment I don't really eat that much bread, rice or pasta and generally the wholemeal varieties when I do. During May I even switched to gluten, wheat free bread when I could, and found I really enjoyed it. When i do indulge, mostly on weekends, I tend to binge a little, which is also stunting my progress. I will be trying to have more accelerator (12wbt term)/low carb days to shock my body. Reducing carbohydrates helped me lose 4kg in 6 weeks earlier this year.
• And lastly. MORE WATER! I have not been drinking nearly enough and it has so many benefits. It flushes out toxins, increases energy, boosts immune system and improves skin complexion (to name a few)

I think that I'm going to try and get back into a better routine for exercise too, as that is what I have really been missing, and it always makes me feel so much better. The class that I have been doing 2-3 times a week has become a little stale, so I'm looking for new ways to shake up my routine.

I tried a class, at the gym downstairs from my new office - Train Reaction! (check these guys out on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Train-Reaction-Fitness/117617971644786?fref=ts) Jason and the others were very welcoming and the circuit class was intense. Three days later, my chest, back and arms are still in agony, it was one hell of a workout. I'm hoping that its something I can get into on a more regular basis, just have to sort out my current routine, as I am signed up to a few different things already.

If any of you have some more great tips for helping shake up your diet OR exercise, comment and continue the discussion below.

xx

My healthy ANZAC bikkie recipe

If you are like me, you just cannot help your sweet tooth.

I am obsessed/addicted to ANZAC biscuits! They are one of my absolute favourites. I went through a period last year where i would just whip up a batch almost weekly! They only require a few baking ingredients (traditionally made with rolled oats, butter, sugar, golden syrup, white flour and coconut) which were ones i seemed to have on hand any way!

I noticed a few healthier versions popping up (These Theresa Cutter versions look AMAZING http://www.thehealthychef.com/2013/04/anzac-biscuits/)  and now that I am trying to eat more clean and healthy I thought i would try and put together my own healthier recipe! I baked these last night, and even hard to please hubby was impressed!

Ingredients
1 Cup of Wholemeal flour
1 Cup of Wholemeal rolled oats
1/2 cup desicated coconut
2 tablespoons pure extra virgin coconut oil (melted)
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 teaspoons organic vanilla essence
1 tablespoon natvia (to sweeten)
1/2 cup water (add more water if required to make sure ingredients stick together)

Method
1. Preheat fan-forced oven to 160 degrees celcius and line a baking tray.
2. Combine flour, oats and coconut.
3. Add coconut oil, agave nectar, vanilla essence and water
4. Mix ingredients together with spoon, adding natvia as you go (and extra water if required) until combined and at a nice consistency.
5. Form into as many balls as you like (depends if you want big or small cookies) and place on baking tray.
6. flatten down with fork with enough room around biscuits to expand in oven.  
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden on 160 degrees (note: the longer you leave them on, the harder they will turn out, i personally prefer soft cookies)
8. Wait til they cool to eat (or if you are cheeky like me and cannot wait, eat them warm and fresh from the oven!)

Let me know how you go if you decide to have a go and make some!

Fair warning, they are addictive!!!

xx

Did I survive my detox???

Detox Day Two, was nowhere near as challenging as the first.. but i quickly came to realise, that I really did not like the taste of the juices, in fact they made me almost gag a little. 

The headache subsided and I honestly didn't feel as hungry anymore. I consumed very little on the second day. I barely got through a few mouthfuls of the first juice, couldn't bare more of a sip of the second (Not sure why schkinny pine grapple was the only option for morning tea every day of the detox - i hated it). 

By the time lunch came around I was a little hungry. Lentil luncheon was on the menu and it was my favourite of all the ones that i tried over the detox. I inhaled it! (mostly because there were lentils in there i could chew on!)

I pretty much couldn't have more than a few sips of the afternoon juice remembering how sick it had made me the day before.

After hardly touching a juice/soup all day, I was hungry. I struggled through a few mouthfuls of the evening soup and desperately wanted to go to bed!

Where was this new found energy I was supposed to be feeling? 

I basically lived on teas (peppermint & chamomile) it was the only thing that kept me sane (and helped my body NOT go into starvation mode!!)

Thursday. Different day, same struggles.

Hubby has Thursday off, so I begged him to come and sit with me at lunch time! Before i met up with him i heated up my soup. I can't even remember the contents now, but it was lime green!! It smelt ok, and I almost started to look forward to it. I took my first bite and i almost brought it right back up. The only way I can describe the taste was warm, sour guacamole.. in other words, revolting.. 

At this point I almost felt like crying! Instead of giving up completely and stealing some of James's delicious looking chicken katsu, i bought a freshly squeezed boost juice. I think I was starting to fell quite out of it because i swear its the best thing i've ever tasted.

Again, i could only manage a few sips of my afternoon juice. I just didn't like the taste..

By dinner, I wasn't even hungry, just desperate for the stupid thing to be over. The vege con carne cold juice dinner was almost as disgusting as the lunch soup.. I knew I wouldn't last much longer. 

I woke up on Friday morning full of hope, knowing that this would be the last day. I wasn't getting intense hunger pains, i didn't miss food. The Schkinny Manniny juices just weren't for me.

Fighting through my morning juices seemed a lot easier knowing that i planned on having dinner. For lunch was the AWFUL lime green sour guacamole soup (I am aware this is not really what it was.) I had to make another trip to Boost Juice! I didn't even bother with the afternoon juice.. i just hung on, knowing dinner wasn't far away!

The taste of real, solid food, never felt so good! I lasted only 3 and a half of 5 days, and even though I wanted to finish it to write about it, I couldn't bear it anymore.

So what are my concluding thoughts???

• I felt exhausted. I think the fact I didn't like and could barely stomach the juices meant i didn't get enough nutrients or calories in a day. I didn't like that i didn't have any energy to exercise either.
• I got a shocking cold this week. Obviously it could be because of the weather and that people around me are sick.. but i feel inclined to blame the detox and eliminating toxins from my body.
• My face has broken out terribly again. I was worried this might happen as it was a potential side effect (and one of the main reasons I didn't want to do it before the wedding).
• I only lost 1kg all up. Pretty much water weight. My weight generally shifts this much in an average week anyway. I still felt quite bloated too.
• I realised that I much prefer clean eating and exercise. It makes me feel much healthier, happier and content.

Will i detox again?

Probably! I don't mind the idea of a detox. I like to replace some of my meals with clean fresh green juices or protein smoothies anyway.

Will I do Schkinny Manniny again? No. I found most of the juices horrible. I have read a lot of positive reviews, but i sincerely hope that someone reads mine and realises that it just isn't for everyone.

For the ridiculous price i forked out - i found it a MASSIVE waste of money.

Can anyone recommend any good ones that they might have tried? I'm always interested in researching and trying new things.

My First Detox Day!

So... as per my last post, I have been wanting to do a juice detox for a long time and now seemed as good of a time as any.

Yesterday was my first day on the Schkinny Manniny Juice Detox (Schinnymanniny.com.au)

Because i live out of the CBD area, my juices arrived on Monday afternoon, so I couldn't start first thing Monday (which i knew before purchasing). 

They came in the cutest little eskies and as i pulled them all out, I felt very excited and motivated to start. Inside the eskies were little motivational cards for each day with tips and advice on how you might be feeling and how to deal with it.

I also received a very sweet little care package from the Schkinny Manniny team that included; a few packets of herbal tea, a loofah, bath soak & Psyllium Husk(for those that feel like they might need a bit more fibre just drinking juice)

I woke up on Tuesday morning, raring and ready to go! My first juice was the Sckinny Leap Frog. A green juice. I'm a fan of green juices and quite often make them for breakfast myself.
This one wasn't too bad, I actually quite enjoyed it and drank the whole thing!

As the morning progressed, I didn't feel that hungry. I had one of their herbal teas which tasted quite nice, and I started to think that maybe my caffeine withdrawals wouldn't be as serious as i first thought they might be..

My second juice was around 10:30. Schkinny Pine Grapple. This one I was NOT so keen on. I'm not sure if it was the ginger, but it didn't sit so well as the first, I finished about 2/3 of the juice.

By the time Lunch came around, I still wasn't that hungry. This time around it was a soup. I can't fully remember the name of this one, but it was a carroty concoction. It tasted ok, a little bland (and i wondered how nice it would taste with a little bit of pepper and chilli flakes) but i couldn't even get through half. I munched on the little packet of seeds that had also been supplied in my esky - it felt nice just to chew.

As the afternoon drew on not even the reassuring email from the Schkinny Manniny team could help. (Side note: I did find it a little off putting that i was receiving the emails a day earlier than my detox progress, because even though my start day was Monday, I couldn't start til Tuesday due to late afternoon delivery on Monday - maybe something they should look into) my caffeine addiction was finally getting the best of me and reared its ugly head. I felt like my head was full of cotton wool and the pounding started to get heavier - making concentration at work quite difficult.

I had a peppermint tea (as herbal tea is allowed) and tried to keep my mind on work.. not the weird foods i was craving. I tried to drink as much water as possible - I usually drink 2-3L a day and just couldn't stomach it.

I ask a question on the Facebook page to try and motivate myself (but am yet to get a response - not the best Social media 101). 

My afternoon juice was Schkinny Fruity Punch. I think i was just trying to keep my mind off the whole thing because i basically inhaled the whole juice! Instant Regret. For the rest of the afternoon I felt incredibly sick, the thought of having to have another soup/juice at dinner made me almost gag (and its only the first day!!)

I drove home, had a warm shower & basically just crawled into bed in my very dark bedroom. I lay there for probably an hour and a half before getting up to feed the cat and try have a little bit of the dinner.

My headache had subsided somewhat, but i couldn't manage more than 4-5 tablespoons of the tomato soup for dinner, and no more than a sip of the nutty after pre-bed drink. I lay on the lounge trying to distract myself with some trashy TV. But even the ridiculousness of 'the only way is essex' and the sexiness of Ricky Martin on the voice didn't work. The constant food advertising on TV certainly doesn't help.

The husband finally arrived home after having dinner at his mums. I had sent him there so i didn't have to see him enjoying dinner, and all i wanted was a cuddle and bed. We were in bed far earlier than usual, and I slept very well. 

I woke up this morning, headache no longer present (although i do anticipate its return at coffee o'clock this afternoon) but not feeling very confident, or as excited as yesterday. Its 9:30 and i have had a few mouthfuls of my green juice and already attacked my seeds. I hope that my energy builds up today and I start to feel some of the benefits that will help me last the next 4 days!

Am starting to think that the best detox is just to go back to clean eating & exercise my butt off (Lost 5kg in 6 weeks before the wedding doing this). We'll see what happens.

Send love & hugs xxx

Will I survive my Juice Detox?

Since the wedding, I just haven't been feeling as healthy and my pants have most definitely felt ALOT tighter, although tonight, that could be the Grill'd burger I just inhaled.

My health is extremely important to me. I try very hard to eat cleanly during the week, but generally on the weekend, I do and eat as I please (and it is starting to show)

I started following my husband's cousin on Instagram last year, she is studying naturopathy and really into wellness and generally eating healthy (check out her blog at www.selfhealthco.com, it’s fantastic!) She started doing a Juice Detox and I was intrigued.

I did some research and found out some of the fabulous health benefits that juicing offers;

Linda Wagner provides some great reasons as to why a juice detox is so beneficial.

• Juice requires very little digestion, so it helps to give your digestive system a well earned break. It also allows for the nutritional benefits of the juice to get into your system even more quickly.
• The amount of fruit and vegetables that you consume is far more than you could actually physically eat at one time. It is otherwise very difficult to get the same quantity of vitamins, minerals and nutrients in your diet regularly
• One of the primary functions of the liver is to serve as the body’s detoxifier. Maintaining good health is achievable by regular cleansing of the liver, which can be done through juicing. As with above, fresh juices reduce the burden on the liver and allows the liver to rid itself of accumulated toxins and just generally work better.
• Juicing can help to improve bone & joint function and contribute to healthier hair, skin and nails as well as having some pretty amazing anti-aging properties.
• (This one is very significant to me, given the fact I absolute hate being sick, and I’m quite a whinger when I am run down and not 100%) Juicing can help strengthen your Immune System!
• Juicing may help to improve your overall mood, and I have been told that it can help aid with natural weight loss
• And possibly one of the most important things – It gives you more ENERGY!!!

 Sounds to good to be true huh? Well I'm about to find out!

So after deciding that I wanted to give it a shot, I had to do a little bit of research on how I wanted to go about it. It was in my search that i stumbled across Schkinny Maninny (www.schkinnymaninny.com.au/)

Schkinny Maninny is a Sydney based company that bring the juice cleanse to you. AWESOME! I don’t need to go out and buy an overwhelming amount of fruit and vegetables and make a crazy mess in my kitchen to turn me off after 1-2 days.

You receive 6 juices/soups a day to consume so I am certainly hoping that I won’t get hungry. Each juice contains half to one kilogram of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes.  That is up to 8 serves of fruit and vegetables each day! Each day you are getting approximately the RDI of kilojoules/calories - it is not an unhealthy, ridiculously low calorie fad diet (like the no-carb diet I tried before the wedding, even though I reached my goal, when I re-introduced them back into my diet, the number on the scales were not happy).

There are no preservatives or additives in the juices. Unlike Supermarket juices, the juices don’t include cooked ingredients nor do they sit on a shelf for months on end.  They are made from fresh raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Given that I live outside of the CBD I will receive my detox in two lots Mon/Wed, but inside the CBD they arrive daily.

Schinny Manniny has a variety of different programs you can try, I am doing the 5 day, standard juice/veg detox – God give me the strength to get through the 5 days!!!

My research highlighted the fact that I will most certainly struggle with some horrible headaches (likely due to my caffeine withdrawals). Other detox side effects include runny nose, tiredness, fever, flu like symptoms, etc.. They say that the more toxic your body is, the worse the effects you suffer, so I am hoping my generally healthy life style works in my favour.

So that brings me to now. Can I survive 5 whole days of JUST JUICE? I am a girl that really loves food, in fact, I schedule my day/week around what I am going to eat and basically cannot survive without caffeine. For the sake of detox, my health and getting my lifestyle back on track... you’ll have to continue reading to find out!!

Schinny Manniny Detox – The Facts

• The Cleanse costs $295 for five days, or $215 for three days (If you’re a little bit clever, you can often find special days and codes to get a bit of a discount)
• It includes six juices each day.
• Daily delivery is available if you’re within 20 km radius of the CBD, for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Call phone: 1300 021 601 or visit www.schkinnymaninny.com.au for more information.

Side Note – Still want to try the detox, but think the SM price tag is a little much for your budget? Just remember you can try a Juice Detox at home, even an easy 1-day cleanse. The internet is full of some brilliant recipes and as long as you have a reasonably good juicer and pick up mostly organic fruits & vegetables, you can still get the fantastic nutritional benefits.

Introduction

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to my new blog.

Some of you may know me from Twitter (@JessLarum) and others may know me from my Rugby League blogging, externally and personally at shesoutofyourleague.

I have recently decided to extend my writing prowess to my other areas of interest (beauty, health & fitness and occasionally the odd opinion piece on current news and ideas).

At the age of 24, I am only starting to become comfortable with myself and how I am... and even as I type this, i realise I am not entirely telling the truth, (especially this morning when i jumped on the scale and cringed) but I AM making progress.

When I turned 19, I weighed just over 80kg (I'm only 158cm tall), and was incredibly unhappy about it. I was lucky enough to have an incredible support system, especially my mum who continually encouraged me to eat healthy and exercise. 

Out with friends in 2007

On my Wedding Day 2013

I went through some exceptionally hard periods of my life, which i will go into further detail about in later blog posts.

I tried a number of different diets, including Sure Slim (sureslim.com.au), Slim Fast (slim-fast.com) and Body Trim (bodytrim.com.au). While i picked up some good lifestyle tips from each, i just couldn't keep the weight off, and would revert back to horrible old habits.

Until i discovered exercise.

I was one of those people that would go through stages of exercising and then as soon as a rainy day came along, i would make an excuse, and get into a rut, giving up for weeks/months at a time. It is scientifically proven that exercise improves health and well-being to "borrow" a quote from legally blonde.

"Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands."

One day, something clicked in my head. I started running, and literally never looked back and the weight and the centimetres did drop off (I'm not blessed with good genes or a good metabolism - it wasn't through luck but hard work). My health & fitness routine has changed considerably since that time incorporating a huge range of different exercise options (although I'm still a cardio girl at heart and could run on a treadmill for days). I am also hoping to complete my Cert III & IV in Fitness next year to continue learning about something i love, and hopefully help others too.

But for those of you reading this and rolling your eyes, thinking "ugh, i HATE exercise - I can't relate to this at all" I really felt that way too. It was a means to an end, something i had to do to get by and not continue piling on weight. As i started to experiment with different exercise and find something i enjoyed doing, it became easy and second nature to me. It no longer became a chore, rather a highlight of my day and a great "guilt free" stress release (as opposed to turning to greasy food, or my addiction, chocolate).

Since signing up to do the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation last year (www.12wbt.com), I have also completely changed the way that i eat, dropping a lot of simple carbohydrates from my diet and trying to concentrate on wellness and eating nutritious filling food that helps sustain me over the day. Although i only lasted 3 weeks on the program (Sorry Michelle!), this more than anything contributed to the way i eat and look at food now.

I'm like any impressionable young lady and believe that the beautiful, dare i say perfect women I see on television and magazines were exactly how I was supposed to look and how I wanted to look. Today, I know and am friends with some exceptionally beautiful women who for some reason idolise what other women look like, and I begin to wonder, why not just accept any small flaws/defects that we may have and the wonderful special qualities that we also share. Appreciating how exceptionally hard other people work and how fabulous they look is a great... but not at the expense of loving yourself, and looking and feeling the best you possibly can. We all have our "fitspiration", and I would love to have Candice Swanepoel's fit, toned legs, but we're not all built like Victoria's Secret's models and should embrace that we are all different, and someone is probably admiring something about you right now.

A big part of me working to feel good about myself is also picking the right clothes and makeup. While I am as comfortable as anything in my own home or ducking down the street to pick up bread and milk in trackies with a bare face, i often feel at my absolute best when i have put in some effort to how i look and am offered compliments - I am definitely a little bit vain :) 

One of my favourite things to do is to pick up new makeup products (all in the low-mid price range and try them out), which i hope to share with you on here also - maybe you can save a little bit of the money that i waste on things that definitely don't do all of the things that they promise to do.

So anyway - that is me in a nutshell. I hope to let my walls down a little bit along the way, so you can get to know me, trust me, and hopefully I can help you.
xxx