I heart George Foreman

I uhmmed and ahhed for absolutely ages before purchasing my George Foreman, I was worried over whether or not it would just end up another gadget gathering dust on my kitchen side after hearing such mixed reviews from people. Some seemed to love it and would always recommend getting one, others said they are a waste of time and dried food out.

I decided to bite the bullet and just go for one in the end. The main reason I was after one was not for the health benefits (although they have been a welcome bonus too) but because of my complete inability to cook chicken. I am so paranoid about getting food poisining that I have to completely disect my chicken after it has been cooked to check for any pink parts, I often see pink where there isn’t any and end up burning my chicken and ending up with something that was dry and chewy, not too pleasant to eat. I thought the Foreman could help me cook my chicken better, or at least not be so paranoid about it cooking all the way through because the plates heat up on the top and bottom.

After deciding to just go for it and get a grill, I spent a ridiculous amount of time researching which one was the best one to get and prices. In the end I opted for a 4 person grill (my mum mentioned she might like to use it for cooking for the family too) with removable plates, which is definitely the best grill for me.

So is the Foreman collecting dust? No, I think it was a bloody good investment. It cooks chicken in 8 minutes. A whole chicken breast in 8 minutes. I couldn’t be happier! And I don’t have to spend a further 5 minutes picking it apart to check for pink bits.

I have also used it to grill my veggies and cook steak with. It keeps the meat juicy which I was pleasantly surprised by and it seriously cuts down the time of cooking, not to mention the fact that most of the fat is drained away.

To use it, all you do is plug it in and weight for the red light on top to go out, when it does it means it’s ready to use, just lift the lid, put the food in and close the lid again. There is only one heat setting, but I haven’t had any issues with it.

Although I love my grill, I must point out a couple of issues. Mine arrived without a drip tray (the tray used to collect the fat that runs out of the food), this is probably just a random one off thing and I just stick a plate underneath instead, but this is still annoying.  Amazon partially refunded me for this though which was great.
Another issue is one that I have seen in lots of other reviews, the grill says it is for 4 people, but I would say its for 3 people at a squeeze. Fine for me to use on my own, but mum isn’t about to fit 4 pork chops on there.
The removable plates also just clip into place, making it very easy to put them in upside down or the wrong way round (I have done both), and it feels a tiny bit flimsy, although mine hasn’t broken.

If you are looking to get a grill, I would definitely say go for it. I really enjoy mine and I’m getting loads of use out of it. The meat tastes a lot better than it does when I was cooking it using other methods. I would definitely suggest getting one with removable plates though, I can imagine this would be bit of a bitch to clean without them!

Cheesy Garlic Cauliflower Mash

If you follow me on Instagram you probably would've seen me post photos of my cauliflower mash before, I like to make mine with cheese and garlic, but these are optional, you can use whatever you want to flavour your mash, such as oregano or black pepper.

Cauliflower mash is so easy to make, and definitely feels a lot naughtier to eat than it is!

Here is my recipe:

Ingredients

1 Cauliflower

1/3 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

1 Garlic Clove, crushed (optional)

1/4 Cup Low Fat Cheddar (optional)

Makes 3 portions.

To Make

1. Chop the stalks off the cauliflower heads.

2. Boil the cauliflower until it is soft, around 5 minutes.

3. Put the cauliflower in the food processor and add the almond milk, cheese and crushed garlic clove.

4. Blitz the ingredients until a smooth mash like consistency.

And that's it, you have cauliflower mash!

Mine looks a tad watery, but thats because I accidentally added too much almond milk.

72 Calories | Carbs: 7g | Fat: 3g | Protein: 6g | Sugar: 2g | 2 Weight Watchers Pro Points

Let me know if you make this recipe, and if you would like to see more recipes.

Weekly food shop - June 30th

I am a person who loves watching grocery store hauls on YouTube, and as someone who is trying to loose weight I thought it might be helpful to share what I get from the supermarket to see me through the week.

I plan all my meals on Saturday/Sunday and either go to my local Tesco or order online. I have to have a strict list to stick to and I often write down the dates of what I need the products to last until on my shopping list, although if I shop online I have no control over the dates, although the expiration dates in store are normally pretty shit anyway. 

This week my food shopping is from Ocado. I'm a huge Ocado fan. Their customer service is great, the van drivers are always lovely, the dates are pretty good, they often send vouchers by email and the food is great quality. 

Ocado stock food from Waitrose as well as their own brand stuff, and they claim their own brand is as cheap as Tesco. Anyway, here is what I got this week:

If we start off with the fruit and veg, first up we have a cauliflower. Cauliflowers are a staple for me and I get one most weeks either to make cauliflower mash with or cauliflower pizza, it's a very versatile vegetable.

Baby spinach is another product I get most weeks. I use it as my base for salads and as a side for any meals when I want to bulk it out a bit.

Spring onions aren't something I normally get, but I plan to make my own chicken quesadilla in the week. Any leftovers will make a nice addition to wraps or salads I make for my lunch.

Tomatoes are another thing that I don't normally get, but for lunch this week I plan to have some wraps with tomato, mozzarella and basil, yum! Once again any leftovers just get chucked in wraps or salads.

Strawberries are in season at the moment and they where on offer so I thought I would treat myself to some. I like them as a dessert, a mid afternoon snack with a tiny bit of stevia, or to throw on some greek yoghurt with honey for a breakfast treat.

Moving on to the dairy type products, and egg whites, because I wasn't quite sure where else to place them....

I got a few Danio yoghurts. I love these yoghurts, they are very thick and creamy yoghurt with a layer of fruit, 0% fat, high in protein and delicious.  They are only 3 weight watchers points and I will normally have these for breakfast or a snack. The flavours I got are cherry, passion fruit and strawberry, be warned, the other flavours aren't 0% fat and 4 weight watchers points. They also have a bit of added sugar, which doesn't make them totally clean, but what ya going to do.

As well as the fruit yoghurts, I also got some Greek yoghurt. I always go for the Fage 0% fat variety. Greek yoghurt is another very versatile product, I use it in a lot of wraps, to make dressings and making fruity desserts or breakfasts.

Two little chicks is always in my fridge. It is liquid egg whites. I use egg whites for all sorts of things, from making protein pancakes to vegetable frittatas. The yolk contains most the fat and calories so egg whites are a good alternative when you are dieting.

As I mention before, I plan on having tomato, mozzarella and basil wraps, so obviously I need to get some mozzarella, I opt for the light type, to me it's the same flavour/texture, just less calories.

If you ever look at my Instagram daily food pictures, you will see I pretty much always have a Babybel in my lunch box. I love them as a snack, high in protein, under 80kcal, calcium and all that jazz, and only 2 weight watchers points! I opted for the original and cheddar. Cheddar is my favourite because it has a stronger flavour.

I also got some vanilla almond milk. This is a product I can only find at Ocado so I always pick one up when I order from them. The vanilla variety makes protein pancakes and chia seed pudding extra delicious. Ocado also do chocolate almond milk too!

Frozen fruit is my current obsession. It is frozen as soon as it's picked so it's at it's peak of freshness, which is also when it is most full of its nutrients, and in my opinion, it is tastier.

Waitrose is the only place I have seen that does single fruit bags, most places will do summer berries or black forest fruits, which I'm not so fond of.

The frozen fruit is on offer, 2 for £4 which I think is a great deal considering the size of the bag and a punnet of raspberries is roughly £2 at the moment for a small amount that will only last 2 days.

I just pop some in a tupperware box and take with me to work, by the time I go to eat them after lunch they are defrosted.

Frozen blueberries are also great to chuck into muffin batter and protein pancakes!

I eat a fair bit of chicken. I always go for free range skinless breasts, free range may be a bit more expensive, but I already feel guilty enough for eating meat and I don't want the added guilt of having made a chickens life extra shit.

This is actually my first time trying Quorn mince. I have a dish I like to make, srirchia beef mince and cauliflower mash (expect a recipe soon because it is one of my favourite meals) but I've decided to give Quorn mince a go to see how it tastes because it is lower in fat and calories but still high in protein. It looks pretty delicious so I can't wait to try it.

Lastly we have the cupboard items.

Peppermint tea is the only tea I drink. It soothes my stomach and I feel like it helps with my digestive system and bloating. Tea Pigs has a very strong peppermint flavour and is delicious, no other brand will do for me now. I always go for the 50 tea bag box, I drink it every day and it's better value for money.

Whole meal tortillas, pretty self explanatory, I specifically like these ones because they are 109kcal, a lot of wraps can be a lot more, and they are 3 weight waters points, the same amount as the weight watchers branded ones!

Another new to me product is the Bear Yo Yo's. I think these are actually just for kids but they are fruit rolls with very few ingredients, count as one of your 5 a day and will make for a delicious low calorie snack! I got pineapple, strawberry and mango to try, another product that was on offer!

So there you have it, a typical weekly shop for me. I hope some of you found this interesting, let me know if you would like to see any more of these and if you like this sort of thing you should definitely follow me on instagram because I'm always posting food diaries, @cocolikegnomes.

Oh So Chocolate

Like many people, I quite enjoy a bit of chocolate, but as we all know chocolate isn’t exactly the best thing to eat whilst on a diet, so when I came across these Oh So chocolate bars I was very happy.

Oh So chocolate bars are Belgium dark chocolate that only have 72 calories per bar and contain around a billion Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium bacteria (the stuff found in those good bacteria yoghurt drinks,) so not only does it taste good, but it’s good for you too, well, that's what I like to tell myself...

I’m not normally a fan of dark chocolate, but I quite enjoy this one. It is only 53% cocoa, so quite a good introduction to dark chocolate, and the taste actually reminds me of the Marks and Spencers chocolate, not bitter at all. They also do a chocolate orange variety, but I haven’t tried that one yet.

I think the only downside to these bars is that they are pretty tiny, although where they have a stronger chocolate taste I find they satisy cravings quickly and I don’t need as much. They are also on the pricey side at £3.99 for a pack of seven, plus they are only online so you are going to pay at least £1 for p&p too.

Overall though, I really like these bars. I think they have some great health benefits, they fit into my diet easily as they are only 2 weight watchers points and they satisfy my chocolate cravings. It's also encouraged to give dark chocolate more of a go now! Oh So chocolate bars are available from their website and are also available to purchase through amazon. 

Holland and Barrett Haul

I think it's no secret that since getting back from Florida I have been on bit of a clean eating/lifestyle kick, so where does one go to get all the bits and bobs they need? Holland and Barrett of course! Here is what I picked up.

If we start off with the Slim Pasta and Zero Noodles because they are very similar products. They are noodles and pasta that are made from vegetable fibre meaning they have 0 carbs, 0 fat, 0 protein but a fair bit of fibre and they are only 7 calories a portion, making them a great pasta substitute for when your dieting (which I am).

I also got some milled flax seed. Flax seed has loads of lovely health benefits, lots of good fats, fibre and they also have a nice amount of protein. The main reason I got these though was for my weekend protein pancakes!

Last but not least we have nakd bars. Nakd bars are raw and vegan, with very few ingredients and no added sugars, so great for anyone on a clean diet. I actually ordered Pecan Pie, Cashew Cookie, Banana Bread and Berry Delight, but the Berry Delight and Cashew Cookie where left out of my order. The Holland and Barrett customer care team where really good, they didn't have any Berry Delight left, so they asked me which variety I would like to replace it with, I went for Pecan Pie and they actually sent 2 Pecan Pies and 2 Cashew Cookie as an apology.

None of the nakd bars are actually left because I may have eaten them all.....

That is everything I got, and I now have a Holland and Barrett loyalty card, which could get dangerous! 

Third Month on Weight Watchers

Here we are, in April, the month that I go to Florida (so excited!!) and also the month that all the hard work I have been putting in goes out the window as I gorge on pancakes, buffalo wings and fried pickles. Oh well I can always pick myself up and start again when I'm back!

Anyway, the figures.

Weight lost this month - 7.5 pounds

Total weight loss - 18 pounds

It was a great result this month, but I was quite ill for one of the weeks and couldn't eat, which gave me a big loss, and I think the pole dancing and starting doing pilates has really helped accelerate the weight loss this month.

I am definitely getting into eating more healthily. Weight Watchers helps you cut down the calories and somewhat teaches you what foods are better for you and which ones aren't, but you can still have a lot of chocolate and processed foods on weight watchers and I am going to try and clean up my diet and get rid of as much processed foods as possible. This is something I am doing gradually as it's a hell of a lot different to how I have been bought up, and it requires a lot more planning on my behalf, what with preparing lunches for when I'm at work and making sure I get all the ingredients for meals at the weekend to save me having to go shopping after work. 

I have also kicked it up a notch with the exercise too, I introduced doing pilates using Blogilates on Youtube who is amazing, very inspiring and motivating and I even went swimming today, something I hope to keep up at least once a week.

As I mentioned, I am going to Florida in just over a week and so the diet will go well and truly out of the window. I will try and do some exercise whilst I am out there, but I hold no promises, hours of walking around theme parks might be enough to kill me anyway! 

Hopefully I won't completely undo all my hard work, but I anticipate quite a big gain, I won't let it get me down though and I will use everything I have learned in these three months to move the gained weight quickly and then some more! 

Second Month on Weight Watchers!

Seeing as I shared my first month on Weight Watchers on my blog, I thought it would be good to turn it into a monthly thing so I can share my weight loss journey with you and some tips and tricks I have picked up.

So February was a bit harder for me to stick to, there was a lot of restaurant visits for birthdays and social outings, and although you get a weekly amount of pro points on Weight Watchers, using them still results in a loss, but obviously not as big of a loss as you would normally get.

I am still finding it quite easy to follow Weight Watchers, and I think there has only been a couple of days when I've thought, stick the diet I want to stuff my face, although I stayed strong!

This month I have lost:

Weight Loss - 4 pounds

Loss on Bust - None (yay, I love curves and was worried about loosing mine)

Loss on Waist - 1.5 inches

Loss on Hips - 1 inch

Loss on Legs - None (boo!)

Loss on Arms - 0.25 inches

Overall I have lost 10.5 pounds and I couldn't be happier. 

It is definitely a slow process, but it's working and I think it will be easier to keep the weight off.

Now here is my Weight Watchers tip for the month.

Alcohol is bad.

Now I'm not saying cut alcohol out completely, I certainly haven't, but I have definitely cut back, in fact I have only had drinks at 3 occasions since New Years.

The reason I have avoided it is not only because it is high in points, and I hate wasting my points on drinks (apart from my weekend treat skinny latte's!), but it also makes you do stupid things.

I went to a bar with friends, had a great night and saved lots of points for a few cocktails, but as the drink started to hit and I got a bit drunk I completely forgot about my limits, ended up drinking way past what I had told myself I would, spent loads of money buying rounds, ended up drunk in McDonalds and with a killer hangover that could only be cured by a bacon sandwich, so not only was my diet a disaster that day, I was also pretty poor that week.

I also went to a dinner party, and although I didn't drink as much, I still had enough to get me tipsy enough to eat more then I should've. 

I have been to a restaurant though and successfully stuck to my two glasses of wine that I set myself and had the meal I had planned. Restaurants are a good place to drink in my opinion because the alcohol is expensive so you don't want to buy too much, and where you are eating you pace yourself with the drinking.

The moral of these stories is, once I get tipsy the diet goes out the window. Two glasses is my limit, but I find it hard to stick to that so I have cut down on the drinking. 

The less you drink, the more you can eat, the less you spend on cocktails and the less likely you are to do stupid things, win all round! 

First month on Weight Watchers

So some of you may or may not know that I have been doing Weight Watchers since the beginning of the year.

At the tail end of last year my weight was gradually increasing, and Christmas just saw it sky rocket.

The doctor told me I was overweight, the scales told me I was overweight, and when I saw my face in pictures from New Years, the double chin told me I was over weight so I decided to do something about it and joined Weight Watchers.

The reason I chose Weight Watchers is because it is so simple to do. You are set  your daily pro points, and this is like your calories allowance. Every food has a different pro point value, and most fruit and veg are 0 points so you can get away with eating as much of them as you like.

Weight Watchers is essentially a low calorie diet, which is my favourite type because I think it mimics normal eating, just on a lower scale, and the points value helps teach you which think twice before consuming something.

Another reason I chose weight watchers is because you also got a weekly points allowance on top of your daily points, which means if you are going out for a night out or fancy a take away, you can use these weekly points to have a treat, bear in mind you would still only get about 2 slices of Dominos pizza with these points!

So my first month is up, before I talk about how I've been finding it, I will share the numbers with you:

Weight Loss - 6.5 pounds

Loss on bust - 3 inches

Loss on waist - 3 inches

Loss on hips - 1 inch

Loss on legs - 1.25 inches

Loss on arms - 0.75 inches

Total inches lost - 11 inches

I think the numbers speak for themselves and show that it is definitely working, and looking at those number makes me feel quite happy. When I look at 11 inches on a measure tape it seems quite a lot!

I have found Weight Watchers incredibly easy to stick to and I think the database is really extensive, it even has a lot of popular restaurant chains menus in there, which makes eating out a doddle.

I think the hardest bit is having the will power to say no when my family has massive portions of something I really like, or a take away curry. The weekly points is a big help though as it means I have still been able to go out for lunch and dinner with my friends.

The only downside with Weight Watchers is I think it would be very easy to put the weight back on afterwards if you are not careful, and I have seen some people do that!

Oh and just to add on, I have been doing it online only, I don't really want the embarrassment of being weighed in front of a bunch of strangers, and I didn't really fancy the meetings either. 

I have however, had a amazing support group on FaceBook. The group is made of of girls I do know, and friends of friends. We are all in the same boat, and I don't think I would have got as far as I have without them!

Exercise wise, I haven't been doing much, just some weights here and there, although after seeing Jodie Marsh's Brawn in the USA programme I definitely want to kick the weights up a notch. I have also been doing a lot of hooping with a weighted hoop. It's lots of fun, great cardio, tones up your abs and is quite gentle on the rest of your joints!

So far I would recommend a diet like Weight Watchers, because it's not a diet as such, it's more about teaching you about a healthy lifestyle. Lets see if I still say that after month two!