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.

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! 

Nescafé Café Menu Review

I have never been a huge hot beverages drinker, mainly because they don’t agree with me, but also because I’m not too fond of the taste. However, this has changed in recent years and I am finding I can have hot drinks in small quantities (I’m talking once a week, at the weekend when I’m at home just to be safe!) and that I am really starting to enjoy the taste.

I had started treating myself to a small flavoured skinny latte (3 Weight Watchers points) from Costa on a Saturday when doing my weekly food shop, but as you all know, Costa is not the cheapest habbit to have.

Then one day my mum bought these home, so I decided to try them out to see if they could become my weekly treat drink.

At just 73 calories for the vanilla flavour and 66 calories for the caramel flavour these make a great low calorie indulgent coffee (the amount of calories in a large starbucks with cream is quite terrifying) and these only come in at 2 Weight Watchers points each, which in my eyes is a massive bonus.

All you do is pour the contents of the satchet into a mug, add boiled water and stir. The satchet contains all the coffee, flavouring and milk so there is no need to add anything extra. These even get a thin layer of foam on the top like a coffee from Costa would making it look really authentic!

As with most things you prepare at home, these do not taste as good as something you could get in the shop, but they definitely make a nice alternative.

The caramel one smells a bit like crème brulle, and the taste of coffee is stronger in this one, it tastes how it says on the box, coffee with a shot of caramel.

The vanilla one is a bit more on the mellow side, the coffee taste is less strong in this one and the drink tastes a bit creamier. Surprisingly this one to me tastes the sweeter out of the two.

Both drinks are great and I really recommend them as a cheaper alternative to getting a latte in a coffee shop. My personal favourite is the vanilla one, but they both do a good job.

Has anyone got any good hot drink recommendations for me? I’ve gone a bit crazy in trying all the varities since finding out I can start drinking them again!

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!