Fun Day at Work!

This morning I tested a recipe I found on pinterest. Oatless oats. I knew today I was going to have a carb filled lunch so I looked around for a low carb breakfast last night. I wanted something else than pancakes and found this. I was a bit sceptic at first but it turned out pretty good! Ok, It can’t replace real oats but it passed the test. I’m definitely making these again.

Oatless Oats

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 3 egg whites
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
• Some blueberries
• Stevia to taste

Directions:

• Whisk together egg whites and coconut milk and then stir in almonds, ground flax, banana, Stevia and cinnamon,blend well.
• In a medium saucepan, warm the mixture on the stove, stirring frequently, until the “oatmeal” reaches the desired consistency, this should only take a few minutes.
• Top with some blueberries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn’t get out of bed for a workout! I was sooo tired. I needed to catch up on some sleep…Insomnia is back and I just can’t seem to fall asleep. I’m glad I did it though I was a lot more energized today. Today we had a big meeting. The fun thing about it was the end, we ended the meeting with a quiz! Who does that…Today was the how well do you know our sales team quiz. I got 6 out of 15 questions right, which isn’t all that bad considering I just started working there. After work we all went to a kebab bar for lunch. The kebab bar was really nicely decorated and it was a cozy place with couches. Our table was ready when we arrived which was pretty nice. I had a chicken veggies and ketshup kebab.

When I got home I did my workout. 50min of cardio (intervals and steady state) and a lower body lifting workout. Hit the spot!

For dinner I had Quorn steak strips with all sorts of veggies and some nuts. Delish!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to hit the couch 😉 Later!

 

 

Rice Coconut Milk!

Last week I bought some rice coconut milk at Bioplanet. Today I tested them for the first time in my bowl of oats. My mom brought me some steelcut oats instead of old fashioned oats and I must say I just loved them! Much more creamy that old fashioned. but more expensive…darn ;). I just used the rice coconut milk instead of almond milk for overnight blueberry oats. Right after my morning workout I devoured them in about 5min! I did some intervals on the staionary bike and some lifting. Only downside on working out in the morning is that I have to be quiet because everyone is still asleep…

Here they are!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a nice cozy lunch with the accountant, a freelancer, an auditor an a new student. I had last night’s dinner leftovers. They also told us today that tomorrow we are all participating in a big meeting and afterwards we all go out for lunch. I love the personal atmosphere at work! Going to lunch with the big bosses makes everything so much cooler.

When I got home I was glad that I had done my workout this morning. I almost hit the snooze button but then I realized how much I would hate myself for it after work. I made myself a turkey/feta sandwich and started reading a little but fell asleep…Still not used to the working routine I guess. I just found a low carb recipe for tomorrow’s breakfast, oatless oats! looks a bit strange and the ingredient combo sounds a bit strange too…that’s for tomorrow! I already told you about the business lunch tomorrow, well, it’s at a snackbar where there aren’t many healthy things to eat :/. So that means a lighter breakfast :(.

Later guys!

The World’s Best Pancake Ever!

Got up at 5 again for a workout today! 2 days in a row 🙂 I think I’m getting the hang of it. 40min of intervals on the stationary bike and some lifting (basic squats, curls,…). I’m kind of looking forward to moving in to our new place cause there is a huge fitness center 2min away. I’m tired of always sitting on the stationary bike to get some cardio in…a change of machinary would be nice! This morning I wanted a nice filling pancake instead of oats so I looked what I had on hand. The pancake turned out AMAZING! This is by far the best pancake I have ever made :).

Coconut Flour Apple Cnnamon Pancake

• 1 egg + 2 egg whites
• 1/2 apple thinly sliced
• 2 Tablespoons Coconut flour, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• A splash of almond milk
• Stevia
• Cinnamon

Directions:

•  In small bowl mix eggs with spalsh of almond milk and stevia. Add coconut flour (sifted in) and baking powder. Mix until smooth.
• Slice your apple into very thin pieces. Set aside.
• Spray some cooking spray on frying pan on high heat. Sir in cinnamon. Lay down the sliced apples in the pan and let cook for about 25-30 seconds. Pour in pancake batter and smooth over.  Cover then turn down heat to LOW. Let cook for 3 minutes.
• Take off lid and flip the pancake. Put cover back on and cook for 1 minute longer. Slide out of pan and top with Greek yogurt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was pancake heaven!

Ok so I need to lose 4 pounds. Not that much but it seems impossible…I work out and eat pretty clean (minus the alcohol once in a while). I have never been a calorie counter! I once started doing it and felt like I was dealing with and thinking about food and amounts of food all day long…Now some one told me that if you want to lose those last 4 pounds you have to count…The what goes in must go out (through working out ofc ;)) rule is essential. So I think I will have to start counting again :(.

I was able to work on my own today as my trainer wasn’t working today. I loved doing everything myself. A lot of people where at the office today so the atmosphere was great. Fot lunch I had chicken with a bellpepper and tomato sauce and whole wheat rice. My mom made this last night and couldn’t stop bragging about it, so I took some with me to work. It was good indeed! Thumbs up mom!

Another pleasant surprise today was that the boss invited us to go eat some waffles! The sales team had landed a big contract and he felt it was a reason to celebrate. Fine by me! Some of the female colleagues were complaning about gaining weight. I started telling them I make lots of healthy versions of all the decadent treats they’re having every day. Result, now I have to make treats for the offive! guess I know what to do this weekend.

Waffles as a decadent snack meant a not so decadent dinner…Turkey sandwich it was. Time to ring in the weekend! Have a great one people!

Instant Coffee Oatmeal!

I mother bought some instant coffee yesterday, mainly because she’s to lazy to start making a fresh pot of coffee in the evening. I must admit that normally I’m not a fan of instant coffee but this brand tasted ok. Funny thing is it was the cheapest she could find! This morning I got an idee in my head to use the instant coffee to make my bowl of oats. Success! I also drank a big cup of coffee with almond milk. This was a coffee themed breakfast for sure!

Instant Coffee Oats 

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee
• 1 ripe banana
• some stevia to taste

Directions:

Heat everything on the stovetop.

For toppings I used some chocolate chips, nut mix and a spoonful of nonfat yogurt. Definately making these again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had to work on my own the whole morning because my trainer had to be somewhere and wasn’t going to be back until noon. I did great! For lunch I made a salad including all sorts of veggies and mini falafel burgers. They looked adorable! Wish I could have taken a picture…The afternoon consisted of checking the work I did in the morning to correct any mistakes. Some minor mistakes but all in all I did ok.

When I got home I did my steady state cardio of the week. 60min on the stationary bike..so boring! I hate steady state cardio…But it had to be done. Also I had some delicious home made cake with frosting at work. It’s not polite to say no so with minor guilt I ate the peace ;).

For Dinner I had scrambled eggs with Hummus and baby carrots on the side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yum!

Missing Greece Means Making Some Tzatziki!

My second week on the job! I’m starting to get the hang of it. Today I worked on my own and the trainer verified afterwards. I did ok. For breakfast I had cocoa overnight oatmeal and a banana.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday before I went to bed I made some Tzatziki to take with me for lunch today. I love tzatziki! I have been to Greece countless times and got to know This creamy delight over there. Mine doesn’t quite taste the same as over there but it’s close;).

Tzatziki

Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber
• 1 cup of Greek yogurt (0%)
• 1 clove garlic
• juice of half a lemon and half a lime
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• salt and pepper

Directions:

Grate the cucumber and squeeze out all the water, then add the other ingredients and combine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ate this with a whole wheat bagel for lunch and an apple on the side. It tasted great! Only downside was the garlic…I think my breath smelled a little :). No one said anything but I could smell my own breath…

Yesterday was a day off from working out so today had to be a good one! I jumped on the stationary bike as soon as I got home for 20min of HIIT. After that I lifted some weights.

3 rounds:

• 15 Squats
• 15 Lunges (each leg)
• 15 Plié squats
• 15 Bicep Curls
• 15 Tricep Kickbacks
• 15 Push ups

I ended my workout with 10min of rope skipping.

For dinner I made Salmon en Papillote.

Ingredients:

• Olive oil cooking spray
• 4-oz boneless salmon fillets
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• Half a diced zucchini
•  1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp crumbled low-fat feta cheese
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425ºF. Cut a 14-inch square of foil and mist top of with cooking spray.  Place  piece of salmon on foil. (NOTE: If using skin-on fillets, arrange skin side down.) Season salmon with salt and pepper.
• In a medium bowl, combine garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, onion and lemon juice. Spoon mixture over salmon. Bring all sides together over top of salmon and fold over to form a sealed packet.
• Transfer packet to a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before opening. Carefully open packet. To serve, sprinkle with feta and basil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!

Enough With the Snow Already!

We woke up today and again it was snowing…I’ve had it with these freezing temperatures and snow! Every morning walking to the bus stop and waiting for the bus while my toes and fingers freeze to the point of almost falling of. The weather man promised us that next week temperatures are going up and the snow will start to melt. Thank god! I wanted to go for a run but that’s not going to happen. Instead we went for some apartment stuff shopping. Cutlery, cups, mugs… the works.

For breakfast I made some Creamy Chocolate Chip Oats.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 2 Tbsp chocolate chips

Directions:

Mix oats and water and cook in the microwave for 2min. Poor in almond milk to create creamyness and stir in chocolate chips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we got home I had lunch. Something light as tonight where going out for dinner. At De Zogeraa the portions are enormous! I had to make sure to leave enough room;). I just ate some rice cakes with some laughing cow cheese and figs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also made tomorrow’s breakfast already! Time management;). Apple Ring Pancakes, they look and smell amazing! I had to refrain myself from devouring them all at once. look at these babies!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apple Ring Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup Whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp Old fashioned oats
• 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp Baking powder
• Dash of salt
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1 packet vanilla stevia
• 1/3 cup Almond milk
• 1 medium/large Apple
• Coconut oil for baking

Directions:

Heat a flat pan over medium-low heat.

• Mix together the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• Peel the apple (if you want).
• Core and thinly slice the apple.  Thinner slices will result in a softer apple pancake, whereas, thicker slices will stay more crunchy.  ( I ended up with about 7 rings, which I found to be a bit thick in the end).
• Add the vanilla, stevia, and milk to the dry pancake mix.  Stir until combined, but do not over mix.
• Dip one apple slice in the pancake batter at a time and place on the pan.
• Cook like a normal pancake and enjoy!

I’m going to get ready for my workout. Probably a circuit and a plank workout. After that it’s almost restaurant time!

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday people!

Veggielicious day!

Last night I made some Pumpkin Overnight Oats. I must admit that yesterday my stomach started growling rather soon after my breakfast pancakes. Today I timed it with oatmeal. I stayed full a little longer but not all that much. Also at work they have lunch at 13 pm…a bit late for me. I usually get out of bed at 6.30 am and have breakfast wich is pretty early. Today I also packed a smoothie. Some blueberries, 1/2 banana and some almond milk and water. A snack that kept my stomach from growling to early!

Pumpkin Overnight Oats

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tbsp pumpkin butter
  
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• pinch cinnamon
• pinch pumpkin pie spice
• some stevia to taste
• 1/4 sliced banana (freeze the rest for smoothies)

topping:

• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• pinch cinnamon
• pinch pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tbsp raw hulled pepitas (or any nut)
• some unsweetened coconut

Directions:

• Combine the oats and 1/2 cup of the milk. Stir in the pumpkin butter, chia seeds and spices. Add banana and refrigerate overnight.
• In the morning microwave for a few seconds to get the chill out.
• Stir in the remaining milk, sprinkle with a little cinnamon and pumpkin spice and top with pepitas and coconut.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every Thursday is kebab day at work. I didn’t have one. I didn’t have the money and well, I just don’t really like kebab. Instead I had a nutritious meal ;). Veggie burger and steamed broccoli. My female colleagues where also eating a lot of chips and chocolate throughout the day…1 is pregnant so she has an excuse:). If I would be eating like that all day I’d become enormous! Some people just have all the luck…Today I learned some new things. My head is getting a bit full with all the things I have to do at the same time and remember. I hope that I’ll get the hang of it by February 14th when my training is over. Yesterday after my workout I felt really energized so I did one today too. I did a 45min interval on the stationary bike. Boost!

For dinner I had cauliflower and a falafel burger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So good! Looks like today was veggieburger day. I  roasted the cauliflower with curry, ginger and some garlic. Best cauliflower ever! Tomorrow Friday! I think I’m getting to know the feeling of longing for the weekend…

Talk to you guys later!

Last Day of Freedom

Today is my last day of complete freedom. The last day of doing what I want and when I want to do it. I won’t be able to do a nice workout before lunch anymore, take my time to make lunch or bake cookies…(I should have just become a housewife :p). But hey, at least I’ll finally be making some money! No more relying on my mother or Jonas. I’m a little stressed for my first day on the job. I stil have to prepare my lunch and snacks for tomorrow. Now I’m going to have to make everything ahead. a lot of overnight oats to get the hang of this new routine I guess :p. This morning I had some more porridge.

Blueberry porridge

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Brinta porride oats
• A handful Blueberries
• 200ml almond milk
• 1tsp honey, or to taste
• Ground cinnamon
• a few drops of vanilla extract

Directions:

• Heat porridge and almond milk unil creamy and thick.
• Stir in honey, cinnamon and vanilla
• Top with blueberries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heaven!

After breakfast I surfed the web a little in search of snacks and easy lunches to make ahead and take with me to work. Then I watched the new episode of Girls and Californication. Another thing i’ll miss, keeping up with all the shows I watch :p. I also looked around for apartments and found some cool ones. Maybe Jonas and I will visit some this week.

For lunch I had Rice cakes topped with gaucamole and hummus. I just love guacamole and keep craving it these last few days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My workout today was another circuit:

• 1min Jumping Jacks
• 1min High knees
• 1min Burpees
• 1min Mountain Climbers
• 1min Jump rope
• 1min Heisman
• 1min Sprint in place
• 1min Power Squats
• 1min Ski Jumps
• 1min Mummy Kicks
• 1min Butt Kickers
• 1min Jumps Squats
• 1min Jumping Jacks
• 1min Plank
• 1min Jog in place

I did this circuit 3 times.

When I got home my mother made her spaghetti as usual on Mondays. I wasn’t in the mood for spaghetti sauce so I improvised a little. I used the pasta but made another sauce to go with it.

Cream Cheese Pasta Dish

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Whole wheat spaghetti
• half an onion chopped
• 1 cup endive
• half a container greek yogurt
• 1 Tbs Phialdelphia cream cheese
• 1 Tbs Olive oil
• pepper to taste

Directions:

• Cook the spaghetti according to package directions.
• Fry the onion in the oil for 4 minutes.
• Add endive until done.
• Drain the spaghetti and stir the yogurt, Philadelphia onion and endive mixture.
• Add pepper to taste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Roses and Pancakes

This morning I tested the Brinta my mother bought yesterday. It was amazing! Kind of like the porridge they eat in England. I recently started following Emily’s blog. She eats a lot of porridge instead of oatmeal so I’m glad to have tested this porridge. It’s sooo good! Maybe even better than oats…It kept me full for hours. I also used  Emily’s Cherry Bakewell Porridge recipe, but I used dates instead of cherries, almond milk instead of soy milk and walnuts instead of almonds cause I didn’t have any of the ingredients needed for the original recipe. Tasted Awesome!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just recently got a job and they invited me to come have a drink at their New Year’s reception this afternoon. This meant I had to do my workout before lunch again. I started with a 15min interval on the stationary bike, then 1 round of yesterday’s circuit and to end my workout I did a plank workout from the Purelytwins blog.

For lunch I made a blueberry proteine smoothie. I took a shower and left for the New Year’s reception. I had a great time! No better way to get to know people than over a nice glass of champagne and some pancakes! I even recieved a bouquet of pink roses and some more pancakes to take home with me. Can’t wait to start working next week!

For dinner…well I kind of stuffed myself with pancakes and champagne so I guess you can call that my dinner :). I’m going to take another shower now cause I’m feeling a little buzzed due to a champagne overdose…

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

The Job is Mine!

This morning I woke up in a smoothie mood. I put on some nice wake up music and got started. This is a good song to wake up to! I felt the warmth of hot Cuba even though everything was covered in snow outside.

I blended together some frozen blueberries, half a frozen banana, a cup of non fat Greek yogurt, a scoop of vanilla proteine powder and a spalsh of almond milk. Yum!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I decided to do my workout before lunch today. I had to go to the company I’m applying at to ‘work’ for a couple of hours in the afternoon. My workout was a mixture of circuit and lifting.

Circuit Lifting Combo

Circuit:

• 1min Jumping jacks
• 1min Burpees
• 1min Jump rope
• 1min High knees
• 1min Shadow boxing
• 1min Sprint in place
• 1min Burpees
• 1min Jumping jacks
• 1min Over the river hops
• 1min Scissor jumps
• 1min High knees
• 1min Mummy kicks
• 1min But kickers
• 1min jog in place

Lifting:

Arms

• 15 bicep curls
• 15 Lateral Raise
• 15 Tricep Kick Backs

Legs

• 15 Squats
• 15 Plié Squats
• 15 Stationary Lunges

Use weights that are heavy enough, after 15 reps you should’nt be able to do another rep.

Repeat the circuit 2 or 3 times and the lifting 3 rounds. You can also split cardio en lifting. Cardio in the morning and strength in the afternoon or evening. I wanted to be able to chill out in the eveing ;).

For lunch I made a Fruity Tuna Salad! It was the best tuna salad I had ever made!

Fruity Tuna Salad

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Can tuna (in water)
• 1 Tbsp Light dressing
• 1 Tbsp 0% fat Greek yogurt
• 10 Grapes sliced
• 1 Tbsp Chopped almonds
• 1/2 Tbsp Stevia
• 1/2 Celery stick chopped
• 1 Tbsp Chopped green onion

Directions:

I think you know what to do here 😉

Seved on toasted whole wheat bread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch I went to the company I was applying and I spent the afternoon learning about the job. After a couple of hours they told me that the job was mine! I was so happy! I’m now an Audit Administrator at a company called Management Information. I got to know some more colleagues and they were all super nice and funny. They even invited me to the New Year’s drink tomorrow.

When I got home I wasn’t in the mood to make a fancy dinner. I just ate a hummus and goat cheese sandwich and an apple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My mom bought something new I’m going to try as a snack tonight in front of the telly. It’s called Brinta and looks a bit like Oatmeal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With some dark chocolate chips of course! I think I’m struggling with a little chocolate chip addiction lately…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy the rest of your evening guys!