Saturday fitness post: The ideal diet

I got idea for today's post when I went for a morning walk. And today's post is about the ideal diet plan, the ideal diet for anyone. And the truth is, I believe there is no universal diet for everyone.

Source: Pinterest.

Many people are slightly surprised when I tell them I am vegan: "But you don't push others to stop eating meat or publish pictures of animals suffering on your facebook wall ..." or whatever "typical vegans" do. No, I don't or I rarely do (I post what is worth publishing), because I believe that if you point out something, you give power towards it. I'd rather post about Japan banning whale hunting for example, because it's good news.

Anyways, my best advice for "ideal diet" is to listen to your body. I personally enjoy and benefit from vegan gluten-free diet, so that's the way I eat. I stopped eating other foods, because I didn't feel right after eating it, or I got intolerant or it made me feel heavy or it made me feel sick or caused stomach ache. Right now vegan feels right for me and I don't feel deprived at all.

You can study every diet on the planet and try to stick to certain kind of diet, but you don't feel OK and don't enjoy it or you feel deprived, body needs something else. Choosing the right diet for you is like a yoga practice - listen to your body, do whatever feels good for you, don't push it or force it, don't exaggerate ... The ideal diet is the one that benefits you and environment.

(I'm talking about real foods - processed foods don't count as real foods :)).

So, have you found your ideal diet yet? :)

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Saturday fitness post: Counting calories

If counting calories works for you and it's nor driving you mental, good for you, but I will give you some good reasons why you should stop counting them.

Counting calories limits bad AND good food. For example: you eliminate junk/fast food and processed meat (sausages) out of your diet, but you also elimanate nuts and seeds, avocado, healthy fats in general, which are essential for our health and overall well being. Burn all the low fat diet books, please! :) 100 cals of lean protein or 100 cals of carbohydrate or 100 cals of alcohol are not the same. They have different effect on your hormones and metabolic rate. Quality food determines your energy levels, health and physique.

Source: Pinterest.

Real food doesn't need to be packaged, but when you are counting calories, you may be encouraged to eat packaged (processed) food, because it already has all information about calories (fyi: nutritional labels can be off 20 %) and you don't need to search nutritional facts on the internet and lose precious time. Which leads to another point - counting calories does not guarantee you're getting enough nutrients you need in a day. Like I said: 100g of veggies is not the same as 100g of hamburger.

Your body is extremely intelligent, it's already equipped to tell you when to eat and what to eat. With counting calories you ignore your natural satiety cues. For example: you already had all the calories for a day, you have a workout in the evening, but afterwards you don't eat anyting just because you already had all the calories for that day, even though your body tells you it need something to eat. Bare in mind that your body is not a bank (it doesn't have a system inside that will count how many calories you had ;)) and if it needs food, provide your body the food it needs. Some days we need more food, some days we need less, depends on how active, inactive we are or what are we doing in a day.

Source: Pinterest.

Fewer calories you consume, body burns fewer calories - if you consume more good quality calories, your body burns more calories. If you undereat on good calories and if you overeat/undereat on bad food, less calories you burn. Calorie restriction in the long term will slow down your metabolism and will not help you maintain weight/fat loss in the long term.


Do you count calories?

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What I ate

It's been a while since I posted a "What I ate" blog post, even though I always promise you I'll be more consistent with them. I think this problem will be fixed when I get Instagram (my current phone doesn't support Instagram) and I'll be publishing more "Instafood" :)

Meal 1: cooked oatmeal in water, cinnamon, walnuts, honey and half of banana. And green tea. Typical breakfast.

Meal 2: vegetable soup (look it even smiled at me ;)), piece of gluten free vegan bread with 1/4 avocado. To be honest - I had another piece of bread after I finished my lunch, just because it's so crunchy and delicious :)

Meal 3: I have no idea how is this fruit called. In Slovene it's called "kaki", but I could not found an English name for it anywhere. Help? :) (orange and red are hard to photograph)

Meal 4: quinoa with tomato sauce, mixed vegetables, 1/4 avocado.

I drank at least 3 litres of water and had one cup of tea in the afternoon and one before bed time.


Tell me, what did you eat today? :)

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Saturday Fitness Tip: How to eat when you travel

I asked you guys on Twitter what would you like to see in my next Saturday Fitness post and most of you requested "how to eat when you travel". I'll start with snacks while on the road and contuinue with how to eat when on actual holiday.


1. Make sure you prepare your snacks for the road.

 

My favourite snack on the go are energy or protein bars, which you can get in almost any store - just make sure they have no artificial sweeteners or you could also make them yourself with mixing dates or raisins and any kind of nuts. Also you can combine protein bars with some sort of fruit or vegetable. Or you could bring just fruit and nuts with you.

 

Another favourite snack on the road are salads: any kind of mixed veggies with source of protein and I put them in Tupperware, I put dressing in smaller container, so salad remains fresh. You can also prepare yourself a healthy sandwich: whole grain bread with lean protein and vegetables. Make sure you also have water somewhere near you so you rehydrate yourself regularly.

2. If you're staying where someone else is cooking for you, let them know what eating habits you have. Give them an example and maybe you could even teach them something new :). If there's no way you could eat like you do at home on regular basis, then I would suggest you stick with smaller portions, say no to desserts (because they make you bloated) and fried foods.

Source: Pinterest.

Ask for more salad, veggies or maybe even try to help with preparation, so they wouldn't have extra work with your meal. Drink loads of water and freshly squeezed lemonade.


3. In restaurants salads are your best friends. Many restaurants have many options for salads or have salad bars, where you can pick anything you'd like. If there's not a healthy option on the menu, don't be afraid to mix options, because YOU are paying for this food. If you ask kindly, no waiter/waitress will harm you ;). For example: fries with lean chicken, substitute fries with mixed veggies. Same goes for hotels.

Source: Pinterest.

And please, stay away from fast food restaurants. Please. Thank you :).

4. And if you're cooking for yourself ... Make sure you eat a lot of fresh fruits, veggies and you have many advice how to eat healthy on my blog ;). Your body will thank you in this heat.


Do you have any more advice how to eat when you travel?
Have a Happy Healthy Saturday everyone!

Saturday Fitness Tip: Excuses #3

Here we are again ... Talking about excuses ;) This is the last post about excuses, so make sure you check out part 1 and part 2, they are all connected :)

One more time - everything starts and ends with you :)

Source: Pinterest.

7. Food keeps my stress levels down.
That's emotional eating and this topic deserves a post on its own. You need to substitute you self-destroying habit with something that will be good for your body. You can even just paint your nails, get a massage, meditate, draw, go for a walk ... everything that will calm your mind. Keep in mind that food is expensive "anti-depressive", there are many other healthy ways to keep your stress levels down. And I also think that your stress was caused by certain bad food in the first place.

Source: Pinterest

8. Someone forced me to eat that. People think that living healthy is lame and I want to be cool.
I still get strange looks when I say no to ice cream, if I order salad instead of pizza, if I say I workout every day, because I don't drink alcohol, coffee or because I order tea on a hot summer day ... If there is one thing I've learned living a healthy lifestyle is that people should mind their own business. I do it for myself, for my health and my well being.
Let me tell you something even better - living healthy is above average! Average people get wasted, eat crap and don't take care of their body. But you know the value of your health and take care of it. Yes, it is a challenge to live in world full of negativism, but you don't have to be a part of it. You eat for yourself and no one else. You're more awesome than you think! People who don't appreciate whatever you do, want to bring you down, are not really people you should hang out with anyways. So, don't worry about what others think, always do you! And I want to be like that old lady when I'm 90 ;).

Source: Pinterest.

9. There's no such thing as organic food, because everything in the world is already poisoned.
And then you buy big corporation foods, which factories actually are poisoning our environment. So you are giving them money to continue to do so. Ironic, isn't it? Be part of solution, not a problem!
Maybe food is not as clean as it should be, but organic food is free from pesticides, chemicals, hormones and antibiotics, in that way is better than non-organic food. Best thing is to have your own garden, so you're 100% sure it's organic and you can also calm your mind with gardening :).
On the other hand, I personally rarely buy organic. Why? Because person's health is not measured by how a certain food was processed. You can still buy organic sugar, but it's still just sugar - empty calories and our body doesn't need it in the first place. Non-organic banana is still better than a chocolate bar. Non-organic almonds are still better than fries ... You get the picture. If you can get affordable organic vegetables and fruit, good for you, but you won't die from eating non-organic veg and fruits, just make sure you wash them really well. Here is a good article "Is organic food healthier than non-organic": click.


To sum up excuses, I would like to say that excuses are just another way of saying that your dog ate your homework :). If you want a change really bad, no person, no excuse, no ego will stand in your way. Also, making excuses is just creating negative energy, always try to be a part of solution not a problem!


I hope you enjoyed excuses series, I enjoyed writing them, even though they were quite time consuming. If you have any more excuses and solutions, please share them in a comment, maybe I'll write a similar post in the future.

If you have any other ideas what should I talk about in my Saturday Fitness posts, don't hesitate to write your suggestions in a comment, through Twitter, Facebook or e-mail me ;)

Hope you're having a happy Healthy Saturday! I love you ;)

Saturday Fitness Tip: Excuses #2

And here we are again. Making excuses and I argument them and I give you a "solution".  :)) Let's just start.

Make sure you read first part of excuses HERE.



Once again - everything starts and ends with you. It's time to shut your Ego up ;)

Source: Pinterest.

 
4. The saddest thing to me is that people are selfish. For example, they get sick eventually (from bad food) and family has to take care for him/her. I've watched a show (I don't remember how it was called) where extremely obese people were losing weight and one contestant said: "I don't want to die from food. I don't want to be remembered as the one who has died from food." People live to eat and don't see any other (much more) meaningful purpose in life. Which leads me to excuse ... If I live healthy, I have no reason to live. All I have to say is, that how ungrateful that person is. Do you have family, friends, supportive followers (if you're a blogger/youtuber etc.), people who love you? Do you have bed to sleep in? Do you have home? Do you have a phone, computer, TV ...? Are you loved? I see soooo many things to be grateful for, many things you have to live for. People forget to enjoy in little things and are searching for body pleasures (food is one of them, because it's tasty). Maybe it's nice to eat chocolate cake, but to me going out in to the nature is much more enjoyable and relaxing. To me living just for food is an empty life. Yes, food is tasty and I love eating, but I feel so much better if I nourish my body just when I am hungry. I know I don't need any more than that. I am more productive, because I don't feel full and tired after a meal, I am more happy and my life is more fulfilled, because I know how to make every moment precious.

Source: Pinterest.

5. Eating healthy tastes bad.
If we would be taught from an early age to eat healthy, simple, one-ingredient foods, we wouldn't crave junk food at all, because we wouldn't know the taste of it. We are just spoiling our taste buds (and raising our blood sugar few times a day). I think that the best way to fix that problem is to clear out your taste buds. I already covered that in Saturday Fitness Tip post few weeks ago: Beginner? No problem! Check it out HERE. And this also goes for previous excuse as well.
Also, try to find fun and tasty recipes, try to experiment in the kitchen, make cooking and preparing your food fun ... Most people who say that healthy food tastes bad are the ones who haven't even tried to live healthy. Try it out, it won't kill you! You can always ask a friend who eats healthy (hint: me ;)) to give you some recipes or recommendations and to motivate you ...

Source: Pinterest.

6. I'll start tomorrow.
Ah, that never coming "tomorrow". You don't need tomorrow, Monday, new year, three months before summer ... to start changing things, you can start right away, because all you need is you and you only. The sooner you start the closer to your goal. Every day counts and you can choose to give yourself a "gift" today and decide to be healthy. Today. I said TODAY! :)
You start with the next meal and get a workout done ;), I am off to prepare myself an afternoon snack and go out ;).


I think that next time I'll cover last post of excuses, unless I get many more of them or I get über inspired to do more of them :D. So, if you have any, please share them in your comment, also, if you have solutions for all three excuses I covered today, please share your brains with us :).

Happy healthy Saturday!

Recipe: I scream Ice cream!

There's one food I can't say no to: ice cream! But all ice creams that you get in grocery stores are full of nasty ingredients that our body doesn't need. I am also slightly dairy intolerant, makes my stomach hurt, so big company ice creams are a total no no for me. Today I'll show you how to prepare super simple and inexpesive ice cream. Nutritous, delicious and guilt free!

Ingredients:
- frozen strawberries (I think I used 12 of them ;))
- one frozen banana (I suggest you slice it and put in a plastic container before putting it into freezer)
- 1 tsp of peanut butter

Preparation:

I suggest you use strong food processor/blender for this recipe. I put frozen banana in food processor first and processed it. I added strawberries and processed again.

At the end I added one teaspoon of peanut butter and mix one last time, so everything is well combined.

If you are allergic to peanuts, you can add other nut butter, and if you're allergic to nuts, you can use one scoop of protein powder or coconut flour or flakes. I always try to incorporate some sort of protein source when I eat fruits. Fruits are carbohydrates full of natural sugars and protein helps to stabilize your blood sugar. Also, you'll feel fuller for longer time.

Let me know if you tried this recipe out and how you liked it ;)

What I ate

Haven't done "What I ate" post in a while, would be great if I remember to do one every two weeks or so, because I know many of you are curious what do I eat. Are you? I know you are ;).
Anyways, let's just get into the meals.




 Meal 1:

 

I had fruit smoothie for perfect start of the day. I blended half of banana, little bit of pine apple, mixed berries and soy milk. For some extra protein I added 1 tsp of hemp protein, I'm not a big fan of it taste-wise, but you can't really feel the taste in a smoothie and I have to use it anyways. Of course, I had cup of green tea too.

Meal 2:

This was my post workout meal, I just ate green salad with chickpeas, I just added about a spoon of olive oil, same amount of apple cider vinegar and little bit of salt. So simple and delicious.

Meal 3:

For third meal I just cut half of a medium sized sweet potato and some brocoli (my fave veg) and put it in the oven with some olive oil for half an hour (200˙C). I just sprinkled some salt and it was delicious! My month is watering just thinking of it.

Meal 4:

 

This meal was totally random, I just wanted to taste something sweet, not necessarily craved it, so I used the other half of banana from morning, about 8 almonds and tsp of honey. Random, but good!

Meal 5: 

Another salad. This time I had cabbage, green salad, chickpeas and tofu with sesame seeds. I put some olive oil in a pan, put tofu and about 2 spoons of sesame seeds and fry it on medium heat. Put it in a bowl with your salad, I just added little but of olive oil, apple cider vinegar and salt.


I hope you're having a wonderful Monday!

Recipe: QUINOA PANCAKES

I'm trying to eat gluten-free for a month or so now. And I'm doing pretty well, I must say :). Finding gluten-free flour can be challenging in Slovenia, I've been searching for coconut, almond, quinoa ... flour, but no luck. I found a recipe how to make a quinoa flour at home and so I made my first quinoa pancakes and I've been obsessed with them ever since :).

Ingredients:
- 2 cup quinoa flour (recipe how to make it here) - we don't use "cup" measurments here, but I take one random cup and measure it out (today I used 90 grams of flour)
- you need the same amount of water
- pinch of salt
- baking powder (for 2 cup measurement use 4 tsp, I used around 2)
- olive oil (around 2 tsp)

Firstly, mix all dry ingredients together.

Then add water and oil and whisk them all together until well combined. Add water if it's too thick, add flour if it's too liquidy, but if you followed the instructions, it should be ok.

If you use 2 cup measurement (2 cups of quinoa flour and 2 cups of water), it should make around 10-12 pancakes. Pancakes should be smaller and thicker, because consistency of pancake won't allow you to make them bigger and slimmer.

Today I made them too big and they fell apart. But no biggy, they are still good tasting!

Put little bit of olive oil in a pan and use spoon to take mixture and create little pancakes. Flip them around when slightly brown.

They should be slightly brown on both sides.

Et voila, you (successfully) made your first quinoa pancakes. I like to eat them immediately, still slightly warm. You can also store them and use them instead of bread and I always love pre-planned meals :). They can be served with veggies or with fruit, can be perfect breakfast, snack, lunch and dinner option, so versatile! :)

Today I had them with spinach, red chicory and hummus. I ate 2 of them, they are quite filling!

If you try them out, tell me, how did you like them and how did you serve them? :)

Oh, and here are some other options:
1st picture: with spinach and portobello mashrooms and little bit of mustard;
2nd picture: half of banana, homemade chocolate and tea (made this for my mother for Mother's day, I'm such a good daughter ;)).

 

Bon apetit!

What I ate

I haven't done "what I ate" post in a while, so let's do it today. :) It's basically a post about all meals I had in a day, so you get an idea what do I eat.

Meal 1:

"Pancake" made out of 2 eggs and little bit of coconut flour, I topped it with 1/2 of honey, raw cocoa (unsweetened) and half of banana. Had my cup of green tea with it, of course. 

Meal 2:

 An apple and 10 almonds. I try to balance any kind of fruit with some protein and almonds are a good source of it (and also fat).

Meal 3:

 I had warm salad: some chicory and mixed veggies, I just put them in a pan with some olive oil and topped it with some brie cheese.

Meal 4:

 This was my pre workout meal, I made myself a green smoothie, I usually put 1/3 fruit (usually mango, kiwi, frozen strawberries or half of banana, it depends on what I have at home), 1/3 spinach and 1/3 coconut water or regular water. I put one tsp of hemp protein powder or on tsp of chia seeds.

Meal 5:

And this was my post workout meal. Cooked sweet potatoes and mixed veggies (brussel sprouts, red pepper, onion, garlic, eggplant and beans).

I try to incorporate lean protein, carbohydrates (veggies and fruits) and healthy fats in every meal, but not every meal is always perfect. I just do my best :). This day was quite good.

Tell me if you would be interested in more posts like this one, I actually quite enjoy writing them :)

I wish you all happy and healthy Thursday!

What I ate on Sunday

I figured out I haven't posted "what I ate" post in a long time. Yesterday I took pictures of every food I ate and here is my "menu" :). Let's see what I ate on Sunday.

For breakfast I had cooked oatmeal with half a banana, almonds, honey and little bit of cocoa. And of course a cup of green tea. Have to make this breakfast you can read it here. I had my breakfast around 10:00.

I had a snack around 12:30 and it was pomegranate. I haven't eaten them in a long time and I realized how much I love this fruit :).

For lunch, around 15:00, I made pancake (one egg, whole wheat flour, soy milk and little bit of salt, this makes 2 pancakes) and filled it with some mozzarella cheese, lettuce, 1/4 of avocado, cabbage and some spices. I usually eat it like a sandwich (with my hands). Next time I'll put feta cheese in it, mozzarella makes whole pancake wet. This has been my favourite lunch lately. It's so super yummy!

And I had a cup of green tea with it as well.

For afternoon snack (I think it was around 18:00) I had regular yogurt with half of banana, little bit of almonds and raisins.

I had dinner around 21:00 and it was zucchini, carrots and beans with quinoa. And I had a mandarin for a "dessert" :).

Now I'm off to make me a pancake and fill it with veggies :]