Shake It Off – January Breakfast Smoothie And Exercise Plan

Are you looking to push the reset button and get back in the driving seat of your fitness plan? Here at Mums In Real Life, that’s precisely our intention from this point onwards!

We’ve got loads in store for the week, HIIT, boot camp, Zumba, running and some regular gym sessions in between! We can’t wait to shimmy and sweat away our week with exercise!! Want to join us? Head on over to our website to see the exercise sheets available – more will be available soon: http://www.mumsinreallife.co.uk

What better to way to kick off the day with this super tasty oat, kiwi, banana & honey breakfast smoothie. Made with 150ml Almond milk and 250ml skimmed milk. This is what we’ll be making tomorrow morning to get us going (usually I’d only use 350ml Milk & 20g Oats but I have keen little kiddies who like to try some too).

Ingredients:

150ml Almond Milk (optional)

250ml Skimmed Milk (or 400ml if not using Almond Milk)

1 banana – peeled and roughly chopped

2 kiwi fruits – peeled and roughly sliced

40g Porridge Oats

1 Ice cube

1tbsp honey

Method:

Blitz all of the ingredients together for a few pulses and serve.

Give it a go and let us know how you get on!

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Throw Back Thursday – Breakfast Bircher Pots – Morning Hack

For those of you who need to grab and go with your breakfast (snap!) I’ve been trying out breakfast pots, which you can make up the night before and grab from the fridge to eat whenever you get a sec on the train/bus/school run/at work.

Breakfast Cups Of Goodness To Kick Start The Day

I’ve been trialling out some new recipes recently with the help of Izy Hossacks, and I have to say I love these little breakfast cups.

What’s great about these cups of food is that they can be prepped the night before, then completed and microwaved the following morning.

They are super healthy and have been giving me a real boost first thing.

Let’s get started!

Ingredients:

30g Oats

1/2tsp baking powder

1/4 Ground Cinnamon

1 egg

4tbsp Milk or non-dairy milk

1tbsp blueberries

1tsp honey

1tbsp yogurt of choice

Method:

Grab yourself a large cup and tip in the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, egg and milk. Mix together really well and then stir in the blueberries.

Pop into the microwave for 2 minutes on high. Leave to cool briefly and then top with your honey and yogurt. Add any extra toppings of choice and enjoy!

The Scuffin Way – Healthy Packed Lunch Boxes

The summer holidays have come to an end and it’s back to making packed lunches for the little ones. It can often be challenging to think of different healthy foods to pack in their lunch boxes, this is therefore a great choice and it certainly ticks the boxes in terms of taste.

I hadn’t heard of Scuffins before, until I picked up a recipe book from a trendy young lady called Izy Hossack. They are the shape of a scone but with the texture of a muffin. They also taste pretty damn good and got a massive thumbs up from my kids, which is always a bonus.

I used Izy’s recipe as a guide, but made quite a few adaptations based on the quantity I needed and the fruit I had to hand. Let’s go!

Ingredients (makes 6);

30g Red Lentils

1 Egg

3tbsp Milk

40ml Olive Oil

1/2tsp Nutmeg

80g Plain Flour

30g Oats

1tsp Baking powder

150g Pears (Cooked) & Strawberries – cubed

30g Demerara Sugar

Method;

Kick off by preheating the oven to 180•C fan. Line a baking tray with baking paper, or use fairy cake cases.

Next up, put the lentils into a saucepan and cover with water. Boil for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and place back into the saucepan.

Stir in the egg, oil, milk, nutmeg and sugar and stir well. Add the remaining ingredients combine everything together.

Using a tablespoon, scoop out about 2tbsp worth onto either baking paper or into the cases (I tried both) until the mixture has been shared out evenly.

Bake in the oven for 17 – 20 minutes, until spring and golden. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

Bon appetite!

Healthy Breakfast Pots – The Grab & Go Way

Life gets busy, right? Here at MIRL we love these scrummy yummy breakfast pots. Made up the night before, they are the perfect ‘grab & go’ in the mornings.

Not only are they tasty, this breakfast pot is unbelievably healthy and very filling too.

Do you want to know more about the health benefits of berries? Check out this insightful link:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-reasons-to-eat-berries

Ingredients:

Handful of Frozen Summer berries

20g museli (sugar free)

1tbsp Fat Free Yogurt

Method:

Simply place your Muesli into an airtight pot, top with berries and then add the yogurt on top! Close the lid and pop into the fridge ready to grab in the morning!

James’ Granola Squares

Fancy a sweet treat? James has cooked up the ultimate granola squares to give you that sweet fix (with only some of the guilt).

Maple Granola Bars

Now, I hear you ask…are these granola bars healthy? Well, they are mostly oats which help regulate blood sugar by slowly releasing energy. Almonds & Cranberries are high in vitamins, so yes we will all agree they are!

They make a perfect rushing out the door breakfast or as a mid-morning snack.

Ingredients

• 60g whole almonds 
• 250g rolled oats
• 80g butter
• 125ml maple syrup
• 60g soft brown sugar
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 50g dried cranberries 
• 50g chocolate chips
• extra 2 tsp choc chips

Method

1. Before you start, take a 20cm square baking pan and line it with tin foil. Then using some oil and kitchen roll, lightly grease it.
2. Start by roughly chopping the almonds, they don’t have to be perfect just a rough chop. Combine them with the oats and pop in the preheated oven for about 8 minutes. Half way through give them a little stir so they cook evenly.
3. Meanwhile, combine the butter, maple syrup and the sugar along with the vanilla and salt in a saucepan and gently heat until it has all melted together into a sugary, buttery, syrupy liquid which smells divine (and is definitely the unhealthier part)!
4. Once the oats and almonds are cooked put them in a glass bowl and then add the liquid. Mix well and leave for about 10 minutes to cool.
5. Finally add the chocolate and the cranberries again mix well.
6. Now pour the oat mix into the foiled pan and pack down really well. Go on – really push that mix into the corners using a fish slice or something similar, and really pack it down. Add a sprinkling of chocolate chips and pack down again.
7. Cover tightly with more foil and then pop in the fridge for at least 3 hours (but preferably overnight if you can wait that long).

Bit of troubleshooting here, but if anything makes them fall apart a bit it’s usually either not packing down enough, or not refrigerating for long enough, so try and be patient!

Once they have hardened, they will unwrap from the foil easily and can be cut into about 12 pieces (or less if you want bigger bars!)

Any crumbs left over from cutting can be saved and makes an excellent topping for vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy! James.

Do You Budget For Your Meals? What’s Your Weekly Planning Secret..?

I’d love to hear what people do when it comes to their household shop. Don’t be shy. Please share what works. Are you the type of person who flies by the seat of your pants and wings it every day? Buying food on a whim , depending on what your taste buds are calling for? Are you a strict planner, who knows exactly what your weekly menu will be and you don’t spend a penny over your list? Or, are you like me? Someone who does a large weekly shop based on what I think I may cook, plus a bit extra on the side that takes my fancy. And then a little bit extra on top of that for the spare freezer (just in case!). Someone who then pops out to the shops to buy some extra bananas & accidentally spends £32.47? I decided to take a deeper look at where my money is spent. The usual bills, kids clubs, gym membership etc but I was absolutely gobsmacked by the billions of times I pop into various supermarkets on a weekly basis, in addition to my weekly food shop!!! I must seriously love a supermarket! The odd £23 here, £3.42 there, then another £17 here and oops, another £6.75 here….it goes on. crazy!!! Am I alone? Do you go out for milk and return home with a hedge strimmer (minus the milk!)?

I therefore thought it might be a good idea to start planning my weekly shopping a bit better (everyone raves on about it, after all!). In doing so, I’ve found a nifty online tool which compares the supermarkets (uk – but must have similar in other countries) & offers the option of swaps and switches to reduce the cost of your shopping basket. I decided to go for it.

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/?banner=35311&utm_medium=email&utm_source=affiliate&utm_campaign=MoneySavingExpert&utm_content=MoneySavingExpert

On average, our weekly shopping bill ranges from £97 – £134. Plus all the extras my husband and I buy in addition to this. Of course, it does differ & we need wiggle room. Is it the type of week where all the detergents need purchasing, do we have guests over, what’s the wine store looking like etc? Based on a good look through my cupboards and Fridge Freezer before I sat down to write my list, I’ve decided to be strict on myself and go for an £80 budget this week. I’m slightly scared. My shopping pattern does vary, especially if I’m a bit hungry whilst zooming around the aisles! And don’t even mention kids! If they come with me, it really does sky rocket with my little ones in tow!

As you may know from previous posts, we had a bit of an adventure with our youngest when it came to trying new food. See the posts here:

https://mumsinreallifecouk.wordpress.com/2019/05/09/synopsis-of-a-5-day-healthy-eating-plan-for-kids/

I really do try to engage the whole family when it comes to meal times, it works for us and has really given my youngest a little voice when it comes to dinner.

We therefore roughly decided on a menu (personally I find it helpful with my youngest. If it’s been agreed, then it’s much easier for me to negotiate when said dinner appears and the reaction is like I’ve dished up dogs doo doo!) . We’re still trying to try new meals (as you may know, I LOVE food and quite frankly dinner times were becoming tedious!). Here’s the menu for the week:

Now, I’m quite a conscious shopper. I always try to buy local where possible and to support farmers. I also care about recycling. Let’s see how I get on.

Now time to shop! I did the online comparison, and whilst all comparisons weren’t available, it became clear that the shop of the week for my needs was Aldi. This was ok, because I didn’t need all my other preferred brands (laundry powder, dishwasher tablets, shampoos etc) that Aldi doesn’t stock. Phew!

Off I went on my merry way. I got most of what I needed (and a few extras – I just can’t help it!) but wasn’t able to buy Sesame seed oil or Sesame seeds. I also swapped Sea Bream to Sea Bass. That’ll mean a trip to Tesco then (because it’s the nearest to me). Also, I didn’t buy any alcoholic beverages. I was so shocked when the time came to pay – £75.95!!

I was pretty pleased, I didn’t even compromise on my cuts of meats. For example, it would’ve been cheaper to buy less lean mince, but I stuck to my guns and bought the normal 5% Fat lean mince I always buy. I was able to buy a lot of British food, so that was fab. What I did notice, was the amount of packaging that the fruit & veg came in. Understandable when it’s travelling so far, but is it necessary? But this is for another blog.

I will probably need more fruit & milk as the week goes on, get through it faster than the click of a finger!!

Here are my fares:

I was pretty pleased with myself. Not a hedge strimmer in sight! Go me.

The food, ingredients and methods will be posted as I go along. Wish me luck with the Sea bass and fingers crossed it all gets enjoyed, I’m not a fan of waste 🤞🏻

PS: If you are shopping in Aldi for the first time…TIP: at the tills you bundle everything back into the trolley as soon as it’s scanned and pack afterwards once you’ve paid 👍🏻

Strawberry & Banana Oat Smoothie Plus Exercise Plans

Today was day 1 of our ‘Shake It Off’ plan and we’re feeling great!

Starting off our morning with a Kiwi & Banana Oat smoothie was a good way to go. Tomorrow we’re going to get motivated with this lovely Strawberry, banana and Oat smoothie. Check out the ingredients below:

Ingredients:

3-4 Strawberries

1 banana

20g oats

200ml Skimmed milk

100ml Almond Milk

1 ice cube

Method:

Roughly chop the fruit and place into a mixing bowl/jug. Add the remaining ingredients and blitz.

Pour and enjoy!

Meanwhile, here are some previous smoothies and exercise cards/plans  that we’ve recently shared and personally follow on a daily basis (accredited by a fully qualified PT)   Click on the links to take another look:

Super Slick Strawberry & Oats Breakfast Smoothie

Banana & Kiwi Breakfast Smoothie

Monday Motivation! Here’s your beginners circuits card…

Exercise cards are coming soon!

Fitness

Simple Running Plan

The Mighty Mango & Perfect Pear Smoothie

Here at Mums In Real Life, our healthy living reset is going well. How can we tell? Between the two of us, we have sore legs, sore arms and the ab zone is killing!

Check out our exercise cards, which have been generously created by our friend PT Craig at Keeling Fitness:

https://keelingfitness.com/

If you’ve been following us and joining (thank you!) in, you’ll know that we’ve started each morning with a breakfast smoothie! How simple and delicious – my youngest counted to 63 and my breakfast was prepped and blitzed!

The smoothie for Day 4 is Mango and Pear. In case you didn’t already know, Mangoes are a great source of Vitamin A & B. They’re also high in fibre, a good source of antioxidants and are low in calories.

Check out more info here:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/health-benefits-mango

For this smoothie, we’ve married our Mango with Pears – a marriage made in heaven!

Pears have stacks of nutritional value and are a proven recipe aid to weight loss.

Check out more info here:

https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/fruit/pears.html

So, let’s get this party started!

Ingredients:

1/2 Mango – peeled and cut into chunks

1 Pear – cut into chunks

10g Porridge Oats

100ml Soya Milk

150ml Skimmed Milk

2 Ice Cubes

Method:

Pop all of the ingredients into your blender and blitz!

Healthy Brunch – Part Two!

We honestly have been living our best lives this week, loads of beautiful food and working out (hard!) with fab friends. To top it off, the sun’s been out to play.

We had brunch courtesy of our lovely friend, M – we worked out in her home gym (amazing!) and then were treated to a brunch banquet of epic proportions. Anyway, it’s got us thinking about the wonder that is brunch – so we’ll be working on some healthy recipes over the coming weeks.

In the meanwhile, here’s M’s amazing courgette muffin recipe (courtesy of BBC Good Food) – try them, you’ll love them. (Almost) guilt free and packed full of courgette, apple and orange.

Happy Hump Day, lovely people. X