What I eat to stay healthy- my daily diet.

Hey all- I am back :)

I have had some really amazing feedback on this little page and actually a fair few requests for things people would like to read about. I think that is so amazing- that I (yes me??) am able to inspire some people.

So the most requested post has been a post about what I eat.

I am very much a believer now in that in life you have to have a balance. You can't be good and diet 100% of the time and still have fun and *live*.

I often find my social life comes in the way of me wanting a  healthy lifestyle - but I do know that that has mostly been an excuse to keep stuffing my face with crisps and cream cakes ;)

I think if you live your life with an 80 / 20 approach you can't go wrong. By that I mean that if you are good and eat well for 80% of the time, then you can afford to be a little naughty 20% of the time.

This approach has worked for me for years and years, so I shall keep following it.

Sadly after I had my second baby, I just had no real motivation to get my pre- baby body back, so he is now 1 year old and I still have at least 1 stone (at least I say, ideally I'd shed 1.5 stones).

People do say to me I look fine, and I know my shape and size is not un-acceptable, but I don't feel great in myself, which is the most important thing, isn't it?

So I'll show you here what I keep in my cupboard and fridge and what I eat in a typical day, hopefully this will be helpful.

These things can always be found in my kitchen:

Protein

Chicken

Lean ham

Crab sticks

Fresh or frozen fish such as salmon & mackerel

prawns

Tuna - tinned in brine or water

Low fat yoghurt 0% with vanilla flavour

Low fat cottage cheese pineapple flavour (or any flavour)

Eggs

Skimmed milk

Tofu - mince, burgers

low fat cheese spread, such as Philadelphia

Vegetables 

Broccoli

Carrots

Green beans

Celery

Radishes

Peppers 

Onions

Peas

Sweetcorn

Mangetout (Sugarsnap Peas)

Spinach

Mushrooms

Tinned tomatoes - plum, chopped

Fruit

Apples

Bananas

Oranges

Peaches - fresh or tinned in juice

Pears

Frozen berries

Complex carbs

Brown rice

Whole grain bread

Wholeweat pasta

Seasonings

Garlic - fresh or minced (in a jar)

Chillis - fresh or dry

Stock cubes

Soy Sauce

Honey

Mustard - Coarse grain and Dijon

Vinegar - balsamic and wine vinegar

Fat free salad dressings
My average day would go something like  this:
Breakfast: Herbal tea & 1 piece of fruit (personally I can't eat in the morning)

Lunch : Tuna and reduced-fat dressing salad with1 eggs & green beans. 1 apple & 1 little pot of pineapples.

Dinner: Chicken cut into strips and vegetable stir-fry with brown rice; bowl of fresh fruit salad

Snacks and drinks: Snack on raw celery sticks, radishes, carrots, apples. Drink water, diet coke, green tea and other herbal tea.I like to have a little extra treat now and again, so I keep a box of very low fat ice lollies in the freezer, and have one as and when. Callipos have very few calories.

Of course that is one average day.. Some days don't go like this... In fact it can be hard being a mum of 2 small ones, and actually get time to make healthy food for yourself.So sometimes I do just grab whatever I can, but the key to stay on track here is to always have nice healthy option in your house, so you grab those  rather than grab a bag of crisps.

Me with my eldest son a few months after having my second baby (seen in the background)

Even though my 5 year old is at school and I give him packed lunch, he never has crisps or sweet things in his lunch, as I know if we ad those things in the house- well Mummy might just eat them.. (Whoops..) And of course also I want him to be healthy and fit and have a great source of energy for the long school day they have!I make sure I always have things like Ryvita, low fat soft cheese spread, rice cakes, apples in the house so when the going gets tough I can still grab something fairly low in calories and fat.I have a major weakness for crisps, and am not really a chocolate lover at all.. If I get cravings I tend to go for a bag of Walkers baked crisps, which are extremely low in calories and tasty.  So in my life I still eat things I want, but try to chose the low fat options, it really makes a big difference I think.So that is me- I do hope that was somewhat helpful. Of course I could go on and on, but I don't want to bore anyone too much.. If you however would like posts on diet or food, let me know, I am happy to receive ideas and suggestions in the comments below.
*Again I feel the need to say I am not a professional, but I do have  long history of working in the health & fitness industry, dieting, exercising and trained as a personal trainer*