Hello everyone, and happy Sunday! I hope it is nice and sunny wherever you are and you’ve been having a good weekend, and a good week in general! This week has been lovely, if somewhat busy. On Wednesday I took half a day out to spend some time with my Mam and aunt from Brighton who is up north visiting. We had a great morning looking round the shops before I took them to experience the delights of my favourite cafe in Newcastle, Olive and Bean. I am now totally hooked on that lemonade! I also had a fabulous salad:
This was hummus with olives and sundried tomatoes, utterly delicious! We treated ourselves to some tray bakes to take home and enjoyed them in the sun:
Anyone that’s local who has visited Olive and Bean must know how massive their tray bake slices are! We shared a couple of them, a cheese cake topped brownie and a peanut butter caramel white chocolate one. Yep they both tasted as good as they sound!
Eat
Other eats from this week have included…
Smoothie with lots of mixed fruits leftover from a fruit salad, avocado and plain whey protein
Green smoothie with spinach, persimmon, avocado, almond milk and topped with tahini, cacao nibs and coconut
Quinoa rye bread topped with peanut butter and strawberries
Quinoa rye bread topped with two organic fried eggs and avocado
My 
Salmon topped with home made garlic and parsley butter, new potatoes and broccoli
Griddled aubergine and courgettes topped with lemon, chilli and mint feta
Courgette and cucumber ribbons mixed with harissa paste and topped with feta
Continuing with my California almonds 21 day #snackhappy challenge, this time with raisins
Strawberries with full fat organic yoghurt and coconut nectar
I had a huge craving for a cheese savoury sandwich so I just had to have one from M&S on Friday night. It was so good!
Move
Workouts this week:
- Monday – Gym, 10 minutes step machine, 10 minutes bike, strength training using machines, pilates pelvic exercises
- Tuesday – Rest
- Wednesday – Gym, 10 minutes step machine, 10 minutes bike, squats, seated chest presses, overhead extensions, pilates pelvic exercises
- Thursday – Rest
- Friday – Gym, 10 minutes step machine, 10 minutes bike, squats, shoulder presses, bicep curls, pilates pelvic exercises
- Saturday – Rest
- Sunday – long walk to the shops
Another week of being a gym bunny! Getting to the gym first thing on those mornings really works for me so I’m more than happy to go with it but I need to get more yoga in!
Wear
Necklace: Topshop, stripy top: George at Asda, maternity leggings: New Look, tan leather sandals: New Look, denim shirt over bag: M&S Autograph via charity shop
I’ve been having a bit of a cheeky shop this week I bought that top for just £6 and another big stripy top from £3 from Asda (I’d only went in to buy a shower curtain!) I also got some more maternity leggings since all I want to do is live in them right now. On Friday night James and I had a quick trip to Ikea and the Metro Centre and I found a pretty Topshop maternity dress too.
Love
I am just totally loving experimenting with natural beauty products at the moment and since Holland and Barrett have re fitted their stores in Newcastle, Gateshead and Durham they are helping me get my fix! I’m never going to be 100% all natural products, as I said in my post for Mitchum, there’s some products where conventional just seems to do the job, however I only use them about 20% of the time like a heavy duty deodorant on some days, red lipstick (I love MAC for that) and liquid eyeliner. I also treated myself to some products from Herbfarmacy after I read Rosie from A Rosie Outlook’s review of them.
Can’t wait to try these! Also…
Officially getting my contract from the publisher to start work on my recipes, can’t share the details, other than it’s not ‘my’ book as their are several authors contributing to it, but still super excited to see my name and recipes in print next year! // our trip to Ikea / coffee date / shopping adventure on Friday night // making my kitchen look oh so pretty // starting to get the bathroom sorted // my midwife appointment – both me and baby are doing very well, spot on blood pressure, uterus size and baby heart beat // frappes // family time
Link
- How to stick to healthy living goals when eating out
- Recipe for gluten free nutella muffins (so making these again this weekend!)
- On being your own version of success – thanks so much for the comments on this post!
- Join the health revolution with myWellBoxie – show these guys some support for their wellfundr project!
- 25 Weeks Pregnant: updates, exercises and recommendations
- 10 tips for beautiful summer skin from Simply Supplements
- Appearing in SoukSouk magazine as blogger of the month!
- 5 ways to stay fit and healthy at a festival via Get the Gloss
- Mama Glow recently discovered this site and love it
- 34 high protein smoothie recipes via Greatist
Next week should be pretty fab too I hope, fingers crossed the nice weather continues! How has your week been? Have you ever tried rose lemonade? What’s your favourite drink right now?
The food at Olive and Bean looks so good! I am obsessed with coconut water right now – so refreshing in the heat (and iced soy lattes from Starbucks have been making a regular appearance too…) x
I’ve started with the frappes, so addictive!
That salad looks familiar ;) It’s the one I was addicted to for the duration of 2012 – I can’t even recall how many of them I ended up eating, even though the hummus didn’t always agree with me. Olive and Bean was like my escape from Uni at lunchtimes – I love the atmosphere of that place, and if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t even have known it was there. Their cakes always do look impressive for sure – I have no idea how anyone chooses which ones to have considering they do so many different varieties!
I need to try making a version of your Mexican salad as it’s perfect for the beautiful weather we’re having. I do wish I was outside in it more though.
Both H&Bs look so much better now, don’t they? And speaking of looking great, you’re living proof that pregnant ladies can rock horizontal stripes. They’re your signature look and they always suit you :)
xxx
You know I even thought of you when I ordered it! The H&Bs really do, its made them so much better but I do have to keep resisting the healthy pick n mix. Glad you think I can pull off the stripes, they are kind of like my fail safe option when I don’t know what else to wear!
Haha I know what you mean about going into a shop for one thing and coming out with bags more! I haven’t tried rise lemonade yet, but love the look of it! I had a rose and cardamom lassi this week and it was gorgeous! Must experiment more with rose flavoured things ;(
That lassi sounds amazing! I might have to buy some rose water and experiment with the water kefir!
Oh and meant to apologise as I’ve been completely shit with your instagratitude project, is it still ongoing? x
That food looks so good, love the look of that salad and I’m a big fan of the pink lemonade! I’m on a bit of a natural product kick at the moment, will have to look at Holland and Barratt!
Definitely check them out, it’s good because they say they won’t stock anything with parabens etc in them so you don’t have to worry about how ‘natural’ they might be and can just enjoy the shopping!
I love the sound of the rose lemonade! I loved Olive and Bean when we visited Newcastle- that salad looks gorgeous. I sometimes buy a jar of sundried tomatoes from Aldi- they are only 99p, and then I add them to my lunch time salads- so delicious..
What exciting news for you too! The recipe book sounds so exciting!!!
I am now officially on the look out for the sun dried tomatoes in Aldi! I’m still pinching myself on the book, as I was saying it’s not ‘my’ book and there are two other authors but it’s still mega exciting!
Awh I love Olive & Bean’s salads! Definitely have to have one before I move away next weekend :( And the tray bakes always look totally to die for!
Totally love the new Holland & Barrett store, such a huge improvement!
Glad you and the baby are doing well, you look as lovely as ever :) xx
Wow can’t believe you are moving away! Are you heading back home or somewhere else? xx
I know, I’m all done with uni now so I’m heading back home. I will really miss it up here though, it’s like home to me now after 4 years! I’m thinking of moving to Brighton sometime in the future though :) xx
All the food looks amazing, the mexican salad has given me a massive craving!
I crave that salad when it’s warm now, I always need to make sure I have the ingredients in for it!
You are looking amazing! Making me very jealous for summer weather again…although we are off to Thailand in two weeks for a holiday (first time back to Thailand with a toddler too!) so I will get my fix of sun soon enough. GIven this cold weather all I feel like doing is living in leggings too and I don’t have pregnancy as an excuse! :-)
Thanks so much Bron :-) Hope you enjoy Thailand! I’m hoping we’ll be ok to travel with the little one once he’s a bit older. Hope you enjoy your fix of sun – haha, I’m wearing the leggings cause I’m too hot!
Laura, u are looking great!! That rose lemonade is good like. And ur eats all look tasty too! :-) x
Thanks Zoe! Haha, the lemonade is definitely good, I need my fix now!
I’m not a big lemonade fan sadly – I’m more into bog standard diet coke (never from the can or bottle though, always the pub tap…amaaazing). Not quite as up-market as that lemonade!
The salad looks incredible – everything just screams tasty to me. And the tray bakes sound and look heavenly. I checked the menu out…why do I tease myself so? There is no Olive and Bean near me… *sobs*
The menu is great isn’t it, James and I always think it reminds us of the kind of places in Brighton, there’s no a lot of them up north so we make the most of them!
That looks like my kinda salad! I love sundried tomatoes in a salad.
I do love how varied your meals are each week. This is what I want to work towards as every so often I still fall back into my original five meal rotation. Boring!
All those sundried tomatoes on that salad look amazing. I can eat them straight out of the jar, but I have to stop myself.