Baked Chicken in Tomato Sauce

This is going to be an uber quick post as this is such a simple dish. BUT it is packed with flavour, so don't worry about it tasting simple too. 

Ingredients (makes 1 serving):

1 chicken leg or breast

1 serving of my chunky tomato, onion & carrot soup (here)

Black pepper

Salt

1.) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

2.) Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place on a large sheet of foil. 

3.) Pour the sauce over the chicken. Loosely wrap the foil up around the both of them. Cook for 45 minutes.

Any comments or questions are always welcome :)

Love and Light

Steph

Back to Basics | Day One

Recently I've been falling away from my clean eats diet, and I've started to notice the effect it's having on both my physical and mental health. My sleeping pattern in particular has been all over the place. So, this week I'm going to be posting every day as I attempt to get back to basics, and remind myself why I started this journey. 

So, I've started off the week with a glorious trip to Wholefoods (honestly, I could spend hours in there). This is just a very small sample of some snack-type foods I picked up for when I feel like eating something really bad so that I don't do exactly that. Plus I've been hunting for Himalayan pink salt and wholegrain penne for just about forever, so my little beady eyes lit up with joy when I spotted these. 

As I sit here sipping on my Clipper's organic detox tea, which btw is a million times nicer than any other I've tried so far, I realise that I feel fulfilled about how I've spent my day for the first time in a couple of weeks. I hit the gym super hard for the first time in forever, and you can see the massive smile it put on my face in the top picture. 

Hope you all have a healthy, fulfilled week - what are your plans to improve your wellbeing?

Love and Light

Steph

Antioxidant Green Smoothie

This smoothie and my Candy Cane Lane Yankee candle have been getting me through the gloomy start to 2015 that we seem to have been having here in the UK. I'm renowned amongst my friends and family as being someone who perpetually has a cold, however, having a smoothie like this everyday seems to have kept things down to a minor sniffle here and there. Anyway, with kiwi, spinach and blueberries packed into this smoothie (amongst other things), this is absolutely brilliant on topping you up with some much needed antioxidants, as well as sneaking 5 fruits and vegetables into one handy drink that you can take on-the-go!

Ingredients: 

1 banana

3 apples

1 kiwi

Handful of blueberries

Handful of spinach

150ml rice/almond/soya milk

Sprinkling of flaxseeds

1.) Peel and slice the banana, kiwi and apples and put in a blender. My apple chopping device seen below is definitely one of my top favourites when it comes to manual kitchen appliances!

2.) Place the spinach, rice milk, blueberries and flaxseeds in the blender.

3.) Blend for 2-3 minutes. I always like to add a drizzle of honey, but chia seeds, oats and ground almonds can be a great topping too!

Any comments/questions are always appreciated

Love and Light

Stephanie

A Burst of Happiness Smoothie (dairy free)

As I've reached my third and final year at University (cue a fair amount of nostalgia and terror at the thought of getting a full time job), stress levels and time restrictions are reaching an all time high. This means that this smoothie has been my go-to breakfast for about the last four weeks. Every day. Anything else seems too carbilious - think "carb-filled" (if Shakespeare could invent new words so can I!) - or far too effort filled at quarter to eight in the morning. Now, as to why I've called it my "burst of happiness" smoothie, Bananas contain a great deal of Vitamin B6, which is something which allows your body to create serotonin (a chemical that, if your body lacks you may develop depression. This is a very simplistic definition of it, but let's not get too bogged down). Flaxseeds help increase serotonin as well. Thus, this smoothie really can help increase happiness! I usually end up sitting with mine whilst I start my uni work for the day if I have nowhere pressing to go to.

Ingredients (makes 1 smoothie):

1 banana

2 apples (or three small ones)

a handful of raspberries

150ml rice/almond milk

small handful of flaxseeds

Honey (optional)

1.) Slice up the banana. Peel and chop the apples.

(yes, this is something that cuts up your apples and cores them in one fell swoop. And yes, it is my favourite tool I have in the kitchen)

2.) Put them in a blender/food processor. Add the raspberries, flax seeds and rice milk.

3.) Blend for roughly two minutes.

Finally, pour it into a glass. I like to top mine up with a swirl of honey to add a little bit of sweetness when you get to the bottom (assuming you use a straw!). It's a fab way to get a whole load of vitamins in, and is great for keeping those sweet food cravings away. 

Love and Light

Steph