Broccoli stuffed tomatoes and first day back

Hi guys!

How is everyone today? I'm pretty good considering I had "first day back" syndrome last night. There's always something comforting about getting back into a routine I guess. Anyway.....I just had a wonderful dinner, adapted from "Everyday Vegan". A light and nutritious meal that would be great as a starter if you used one tomato per person.

This recipe called for fresh basil but the shop was void of all varieties of fresh herb. I used vegan basil pesto instead and it was a tasty substitution...in fact if I made this dish again, I'd probably still use pesto!

Broccoli Stuffed Tomatoes
- 1tsp olive oil
- broccoli
- 1tbsp vegan pesto
- 1 medium onion
- 2 large tomatoes
- vegan or regular cheese to melt on the top if desired

Dressing
- the insides of the scooped out tomatoes
- olive oil
- cider vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste








This was absolutely SCRUMMY! I'd deffo make it again. Dead easy too!

After my dinner and a super sweaty workout at the gym, I'm currently relaxing on the sofa. PJs - check. Huge fluffy socks - check. Cherry-cinnamon tea - check :-) I'm one happy bunny :-)

love and hugs
xoxo

I wish, I wish, upon a star......

......that it was only Christmas Eve so far......

.....I really wish it was only Christmas Eve and we could do everything again! I'm currently sitting in my little flat, looking at my wonky christmas tree and thinking about how wonderful the festive season was this time round. I guess thrown into the mix is the dreaded "I REAAALLLLY don't wanna go back to work" feeling. Yeah, I'm not too enthusastic about setting my alarm for an hour earlier tonight :-(

One of my goals for 2011 is to consult my cookbooks more. I currently have many fabulous vegan recipe books but haven't put them to optimal use yet. I plan to try and make 2 new recipes per week in 2011. The ones for this week shall be "Quinoa salad with sundried tomatoes" and "Broccoli-stuffed tomatoes", both from "Everyday Vegan" by Jeani-Rose Atchison. Will let you know how they turn out :-)

Ok....I'll leave this post as a short one as I'd better get myself ready for work tomorrow. I always have the WORST nights sleep on the last night of a holiday so I guess hitting the sack early wouldn't do any harm.

Night everyone x x

Birthday fun then the year is done!

Hi!

I just wanted to wish everyone an early HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Have fun celebrating tonight, enjoy some time with your loved ones and a glass or two of vino ;-)

It's actually my birthday today and I've had a lovely time. A killer gym workout, followed by lunch and a glass of sparkly stuff with my best friends and then boyfriend time :-) I'm typing this as boyf is in the bathroom makng his face baby soft. Woop woop for non-prickly new year kisses!!! :-) Actually....he's just making himself respectable before we head off for new years dinner with my parents!

I hope 2011 is amazing for you all!

Much love
x x x

Lentil and tomato salad

Hey! How is everyone? I'm feeling good after another great treadmill workout. After a pretty busy day in the surgery, I hit the gym for a sweaty betty hill/interval run, followed by some sprints alternated with upper body weights. Fab! :-)

My workout was followed by a great post-workout dinner - lentil and tomato salad, served with a couple of slices of cracked black pepper ciabatta. A great protein-rich dish to aid muscle recovery :-)

For this salad, I basically threw in loads of chopped cherry tomatoes, onion, green lentils and capers. I mixed everything together along with salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and a splash of lurvely olive oil. My tummy is happy :-)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is currently on TV....love that movie :-)
xoxo

Back into the exercise groove

Phew!

I just had a great 90 minute treadmill run in the gym below my flat. Just what I needed after 3 days of sedentary christmas celebrations. It's amazing how quickly you can start to feel different when you're used to exercising most days. I usually find that after a couple of days off, I'm dying for a run to stop me getting fidgety!

Are y'all back into your exercise routines yet? Has anyone got any specific goals for 2011?

xoxo

Vegan cupcakes and mince pie madness!

Hi guys! I hope you all had a wonderful christmas. I had a lovely time....my boyfriend and I decided to have a go at making our very first traditional turkey dinner. I ate vegan....he ate pork stuffing, turkey, bacon and sausage!!! Needless to say, we did good!!

One of my christmas pressies from a friend was this wonderful box of vegan cupcakes...they are soooo yummy! Must get the recipe :-) My batch of mince pies also came out quite well....still, there's stiff competition from my boyfriends mum!

Hmmph! I'm back at work tomorrow :-( Why does time speed up as soon as it reaches christmas? One good thing though....I can't wait to get back into my exercise routine again. 4 days off and I've got itchy feet!

I need to start planning for the year ahead. I like to set myself goals when the end of each year comes around....some new fitness goals are in the pipeline I think. What are your new year goals/resolutions?

I think one of mine is to update my blog more regularly! :-)

Much love xoxo

Christmas trees and mince pies....priceless :-)

Hi Guys!
How are y'all? :-) Writing this blog marks, for me, the end of a wonderful Sunday. I started the day with a clean up of the flat and then headed to the gym for a fab workout. Hills on the treadmill and a spinning class :-) Just what I needed.

Then I met up with my man and we had a long lunch in a local organic cafe. Soooo nice! I love just sitting, chatting and holding hot mugs of tea. Then.....we finally got our christmas tree :-) We were the last customers of the whole year and we turned the last little christmas tree into something to be proud of. We drank mulled wine and I made a batch of traditional mince pies for my boyfriend to enjoy in his lunchboxes. They were a hit!

To round up we decided to watch "Priceless" with Audrey Tatou in it. It was fab! I love a good movie night!

Are you all feelinig christmassy yet? I'm definately feeling more festive after today :-)

x x x