Hey hey lovelies! Hope your all having a fantastic weekend.
I’ve had a pretty good week full of lots of nice things and getting back into a normal routine after my holiday has been great. Right now it’s raining cats and dogs, which may have ruined today’s plans of my brother visiting. Hopefully it doesn’t hang around for too long and the sunshine returns otherwise we’ll be having a pajama day instead.
Getting back into the old routine has meant lots of green smoothies this week like the one above which was my favourite. Some of my green smoothies haven’t tasted that great recently but this one was fab. A classic peanut butter and banana combination that never fails. I also added spinach, unsweetened almond milk and ice as it was pretty warm that morning.
Other foodie highlights from my week include:
A lentil salad with everything else from the fridge. I threw in mixed leaves, cucumber, tomatoes, green lentils, garlic and black pepper soft cheese, peppers and spring onions.
Cookies! We were in town on Friday afternoon and realised that we haven’t had any Millie’s Cookies for at least 5 years. I used to love these so much and ate them regularly. We picked up a bag as a treat and I enjoyed a couple of hazelnut and praline cookies, yum!
Last week I bought a huge punnet of blueberries in the grocery shop so have been eating them like a trooper this week. For me they are always great with organic natural yoghurt (full fat), nectarines, honey and almonds for a healthy breakfast or afternoon snack.
An easy quick dinner in the form of leftovers from a quinoa and chickpea salad that I’ve been recipe testing for the blog, roasted veggies, plantain and steamed kale. I love thrown together meals like this, simple and full of my favourite things.
Kale chips are a great snack and I really should eat them more often. I was kindly sent these Inspiral cacao and cinnamon kale chips to review for the blog and I’ve loved them so far. They are quite dark and bitter in taste from the cacao.
I seem to have a bit of an addiction to stir fries at the moment. This was a chilli beef stir fry with a bag of stir fried vegetables and thick rice noodles. A great way to get more veggies into you meals and ready in minutes.
Another winning breakfast (in my opinion) were these overnight oats with blueberries, almond butter, a big dollop of Nutella and slices of watermelon. Some of my favourite foods right now all on one plate.
My workouts this week have looked like this:
Monday – morning gym session (10 minutes gentle cardio and strength routine – bicep curls, shoulder presses, chest presses, squats against the wall and weighted bum raises, plus yoga stretches)
Tuesday – 30 minute walk
Wednesday – morning gym session (10 minutes gentle cardio and strength routine – bicep curls, shoulder presses, chest presses, squats against the wall and weighted bum raises, plus yoga stretches)
Thursday – Active antenatal class
Friday – morning gym session (10 minutes gentle cardio and strength routine – bicep curls, shoulder presses, chest presses, squats against the wall and weighted bum raises, plus yoga stretches)
Saturday –REST
Sunday – REST
I had a big push this week to get back into my workout routine. Overall, I’m pretty pleased with what I’ve achieved and I’m still loving my walks in the countryside, but I’ve definitely got a bit of a pregnancy waddle now and I feel much slower. My first active antenatal class was this week and it was fab, loved meeting other pregnant ladies who are all due at the the same time as me.
So now I’m in the later stages of pregnancy there is quite a lot going on in terms of my mind and body and general preparation for birth. Until the end of my pregnancy I’m going to keep my pregnancy updates in separate weekly posts as I have quite a lot to say on the subject, starting with my antenatal classes and labour and birth preparations. I totally understand that not everyone will be interested in these posts, but for me I think they will be nice to look back on.
Sitting here at 34 weeks pregnant I’m getting more and more excited for the little man’s arrival, especially now that he’s head down. I had my whooping cough vaccine this week, which left me with a sore arm for a couple of days. Also, he’s been moving around a lot and there’s definitely a pattern now of quiet and more active moments as he’s beginning to run out of space in there.
Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend. The rain has actually stopped now, so I’m praying that it remains that way!
Have you tried any new and interesting snacks recently? How do you like to spend rainy days?
I love kale crisps, but I wish the ready to eat bags of them ere not so expensive. I have been snacking on a lot of roasted spiced beans. I love them.
They are quite pricey, but do make a lovely treat from time to time.
You look amazing at 34 weeks!
Thanks so much Maryann.
Thanks so much Maryann!
The kale chips sound quite interesting! Strange combo but I’m sure strangely nice. I can never make them as nice as I’d like at home, always a bit too crunchy and burnt!
I know what you mean. A very low oven temperature is key I think.
I love the Inspiral beetroot kale chips, they are so good!
They do sound good, will have to hunt some down.
All of those snacks look amazing – and so do you! Go momma!
Awww that’s so lovely of you to say! 🙂
Everything looks delicious! You look awesome girl! Keep it up! <3
Thanks so much Shipra!!! 🙂
Wow, so many yummy foods! I’m a huge fan of green smoothies and I’ve never seen those specific Kale chips, but I need to find them now lol. Love your cute little prego belly <3 In the home stretch!
Thanks Doria! 🙂 Green smoothies are fab aren’t they, love them.
everything in this post made me hungry, but especially that lentil salad! wow! <3
Ha! Loved that salad. 🙂
Any time you want to come cook for me, you just let me know, lol! That lentil salad looks amazing…:)
I love green smoothies and those workouts look great!
That all looks so amazing!! I didn’t have time to go grocery shopping yesterday so I am have a rough morning not drinking a green smoothie! Yours looks so delicious!!
Overnight oats! I really need to try that soon – my favorite are steel cut oats, but they never get soft enough. I’ve heard that soaking them overnight really helps. And yogurt with honey and nectarines is one of my very favorite breakfasts 🙂 Good for you to sticking to your healthy plan! Looks like it’s going great!
34 weeks? So exciting! Those Kale chips look yummy!
Baking is the perfect activity on rainy days- warms you up too!
Although I have been clearing out drawers and the wardrobe at the moment- I love a proper clear out and have not had one for ages, so I don’t mind the rain while I do that,
I think that the rain is the perfect excuse to get stuff like that done around the house. Although baking has to be at the top of the list for me. 🙂
34 weeks and you are still getting your fitness in! Proud of you!! I look forward to your pregnancy updates. As a youngster (23) who hasn’t any babies (yet), I love learning about the experiences that different women have towards the end of their pregnancies.
I love lentil salads there so tasty, that one looks lovely 🙂
Thank Sarah!
34 weeks! So close! It’s really impressive how fit you’re staying! You’re definitely an inspiration.
Aww thanks Alicia! I’m trying, but seem to be getting slower now though which is OK too.
You are looking so cute at 34 weeks!!
Great snack ideas! The school year is coming up, so making some of these would be perfect to bring with me back to school for a snack. 🙂
Thanks for sharing!