Sweet Potato Brownies

Yesterday I experimented in making sweet potato brownies.

I got the idea from Deliciously Ella - one of my favourite blogs which has loads of amazingly delicious healthy recipes - I'm obsessed!

At first the ingredients seemed like they would be quite hard to get hold of as, apart from sweet potatoes, none of it was stuff I usually buy. However, I managed to get it all from either Holland & Barrett or Waitrose so it really wasn't that difficult, apart from the raw cacao which I ordered from Amazon.

Go to the Deciously Ella site for the recipe!

The brownies turned out pretty well. The only thing was as this recipe doesn't give a weight for the sweet potatoes it is hard to tell whether you're using too much or too little in proportion to the other ingredients and so I think I ended up using too much, meaning that they didn't taste as chocolatey as I wanted them too (so I added some small chunks of dark chocolate which definitely isn't part of Ella's recipe...but I'm sure hers wouldn't have needed it haha) - but now I know for next time to use less sweet potato!

I gave them to my family after our Sunday roast (which my mum cooked and was AMAZING).
Their responses were good - luckily they all love sweet potato as they were very potatoey! My boyfriend said they definitely needed more cacao.. So I will try again soon and see if I can make them even better than this first attempt!

Practice makes perfect...

Broccoli's the BEST

My mum forwarded me an email the other day from her trainer giving 7 reasons why broccoli is one of the best vegetables you can eat!

Here we go...

1. Broccoli contains glukorafanin which the body processes into the anti-cancerous compound, sulforaphane. Sulforaphane cleans the body of Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium known to increase the risk of stomach cancer. In addition, broccoli prevents development of breast, cervical and prostate tumours, and improves liver function.

2. Broccoli has a high content of soluble fibres which are known to reduce the levels of bad cholesterol in the body and improve digestion and gut health. Broccoli also prevents constipation, maintains normal blood sugar levels, and prevents overeating. Also, 100 grams of broccoli has the same amount of vegetable protein as 100 grams of rice or corn, but with less than half the calories.


3. Broccoli is a particularly rich source of kaempferol and isothiocyanate, which are considered the most powerful anti-inflammatory substances. Studies have shown that eating broccoli reduces the impact of allergies with these anti-inflammatory properties. 

4. Broccoli has the highest levels of vitamin C in the family of cruciferous vegetables. Vitamin C by itself is a powerful antioxidant.

5. Broccoli also has high levels of calcium and vitamin K which are important for bone health and prevention of osteoporosis at older age.


6. The anti-inflammatory properties found in broccoli may prevent damage to the walls of blood vessels.

7. Due to its high levels of potassium and magnesium, broccoli helps maintain normal blood pressure in the body.


So, let's go eat some broccoli!!

Yesterday's workout

I felt so motivated yesterday and really energised after a great sleep and a yummy smoothie (made with one banana, a handful of strawberries, another handful of blueberries, a splash of milk and a dash of chocolate protein powder).

So, I went to the gym and decided to run 8k on the treadmill (I was going to run outside but it was raining so I opted out..). When I got to 7.5k I still felt like I had loads of energy left, and was enjoying listening to my new workout playlist I made whilst eating breakfast, so I just went for the 10k. I felt amazing after (although I was quite red and very sweaty) and really proud of myself because I haven’t run that far since long before Christmas.

After that I did some cardio/strength exercises (as shown in the videos from bykiki in my previous post) and then some ab exercises (shown in the second video) – however I don’t have all the gym equipment featured in those videos at home so I just did the ones that involved the bench, exercise ball and 5kg weight.

Then, in the afternoon I went for a nice half-hour walk with my mum and the dogs.

The exercise in the morning made me feel so positive and happy all day – even though I’m a little sore now!

Inspiration

Sometimes I really need some motivation to push myself to workout on those days when I just don't feel like it but I know it will make me feel good after..

My biggest inspiration at the moment is Kristin Sundburg who I stumbled upon whilst scrolling through Instagram last week. I’m in love with her blog bykiki.se – it has amazing workout tips and videos which I find so great as I often get bored in the gym and need to mix up my workouts. She’s also absolutely stunning with an amazing body; her body is what I’m aiming for (a girl can dream).

Pictures from bykiki.se

I used these two videos in my workout yesterday after a 10k run on the treadmill – I’m pretty sore now…

Hopefully soon I'll be able to post my own videos but I really recommend Kristin's blog if you're lacking gym motivation or ideas!

Food and exercise diary

Hi hi!

For two weeks now I’ve been writing down everything I’ve eaten and all the exercise I’ve been doing in this sweet little notebook I got in my Christmas stocking!

It has actually really helped me because knowing I have to write it down has encouraged me not to eat rubbish food. Also it’s a really good way of keeping on track – to know exactly when you’ve had cheat days and rest days etc.

It has also made me realise that I eat an unholy amount of yogurt….