Health | GM Diet Diary: Day 5 & 6

After taking a little break from writing, I am ready to tell you all about these 2 days!

Health | GM Diet Diary: Day 3

Day 3.

Fitness | Falling off the band-wagon

Health and fitness has been a major part of my life for the past few years. Not this time, it isn't.

Fitness | Lacking motivation

Today I will tell you all that I am not motivated at all to eat right and much less, working out. 

Fitness | Haul

I went on a shopping spree a couple of weeks ago to a mall which is relatively far from where I live. When I say relatively, it means 1 hour away. Not at all close. 

Fitness | Current mood

Right now I am sitting in bed, listening to Ariana Grande's Dangerous Woman, after a workout. 

Life is happy. 

Yay for a New Year!

2016 will be an awesome year.

I have come up with several new ideas for this brand new year, which I am pretty excited about and can't wait to start planing and working to achieve my goals. 

Healthy Recipe: Mushroom and Cauliflower cheese crumble

Yesterday was one of those days in which I decided to cook at home and found a recipe over the cookbook app on my iPhone and loved it.

My mom and dad were very pleased with how it turned out and I decided to share it with you guys and and see if you'd like to try it and tell me what you think about it! 

And now! the recipe: 

Ingredients: 

1 Cauliflower, cut into florets

55 gr/2 oz butter

115 gr/4 oz mushrooms, sliced

Salt and pepper

Toping: 

115 gr/4 oz breadcrumbs

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried parsley

25 gr/1 oz butter

How to: 

1) Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to boil. Add the cauliflower and cook for 3 mins. 

2) Remove from the heat, drain well and transfer to a shallow over proof dish.

3) Preheat oven to 230°C/ 450°F/ Gas mark 8. Melt butter in a small frying pan over a medium heat. Add the Mushrooms, stir and cook gently for 3 mins. 

4) Remove from the heat and spoon on top of the cauliflower. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

5) Combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and herbs into a small mixing bowl, then sprinkle over the vegetables.  

6) Dice the butter and dot over the breadcrumb mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 mins or until topping is golden brown. 

And voila! the Mushroom and Cauliflower cheese crumble is ready! 

I hope you enjoy it and let me know in the comments below if you did it and if you liked it. 

picture from here. (it's not the same recipe, it's just the closest picture I could find of the one I had)

My go-to breakfast (2013 edition)

I have posted a fair share of these in the past years, and it changes almost by the season. 

This season, my go-to breakfast is a capresse sandwich. I just love how it tastes and how fresh it is. 

I make my variations because I just don't like mozzarella cheese. I substitute it with edam cheese or Paria cheese. I don't know if you can find Paria cheese elsewhere but it is a cheese that can be found in Peru, it is really tasty and melts deliciously, and the best part is that it is low fat. YEY. 

To top it out, I drink green tea with it or red tea if I have it in my pantry. Sometimes with fresh low fat milk or coffee if I'm feeling it.   

So this is my go to breakfast, for the season. Tell me, which is your go to breakfast right now? 

picture from here. 

Portion Control

Sometimes I will plan posts, sometimes I will write as it comes to my mind. 

Lately, I've been trying to stick to a healthier lifestyle, but it just seems like everything is off. When I try to eat less sweets, that's when people start eating them more. The moment I start eating more greens, people just seem to go to a full carb diet. WHAT on earth is going on? 

Maybe it's tougher because I start to notice what others are eating due to the fact that I won't be eating that. And that's where the cravings begin with no turning back. Maybe a small chocolate piece, a little pasta over here, a tinzy bit of a coke. 

Then I watch tv. And there is where I feel horrible. Depressing. Awful. The other day the VS fashion Show was on. Yeah, like that would've helped to get out of the deep black hole I was in at the moment. Well it did. I said to myself: If those models can be so fit, not being extremely thin, have their curves going but at an a healthy weight, I surely can. 

From that moment on, I have been extremely good. I have not cut off anything from what I eat, I just try to eat less, much, much less of carbs, sweets, and all the stuff that just make you feel guilty afterwards eating a huge amount of ice-cream or a whole bar of chocolate. 

Portion control. That was the key, and then I don't feel deprived. 

I know it's been so long since I posted something about health, fitness or anything like it. It was just because I was struggling, A LOT. I couldn't figure it out right, and I was frustrated that my weight wasn't coming down, and tried many methods, that, to be honest, lasted just couple of days and then I gave up on them. I was not happy, not at all.

Now that we have been on 2013 for 14 days, I wanted to do things right. I enrolled myself on the gym, I start tomorrow. I have been good at eating healthier. And some times I will have some good recipes to share with you! 

I hope you have a great start of the week :) 

picture from here. 

Workout Playlist 15

It's been fun times to share some of my favorite songs with you guys! I love blasting out my morning with fun and energetic music. I live off of my environment, and if it is not at all nice (Living in Lima does no charm to it) i will just be so unhappy and bitter, so I need to counter act all this "greyness" of the city (at least in winter and fall) and cheer up my very own little environment. 

I am thinking about making this series once every 2 weeks and just adding some nice songs that brighten it all and inspire you to keep moving, working out or whatever activity you are up to starting your week.

So without further ado, the 5 songs of this week!

1) We are Golden- Mika
2) Lollipop- Mika
3) Danger- Hilary Duff
4) Alejandro- Lady Gaga
5) Starstrukk- 3OH!3

have a great start of the week! and let me know how you will like the idea proposed earlier!

xo,

S.A

picture from here.

Healthy Snacks: Pretzels

I know it's been a while since I've posted one of this healthy snack posts (sorry for the redundancy)! it been waaaay too long! 

I love Pretzels, really really love them. I have been recently obsessed. I buy them every one or twice a week when I'm a little hungry but am really not feeling like grabbing some nuts or almonds or any fruit. It is my "cheat" snack. A better option to the junk food that you buy that are full of oils, fats, salt, over fried or else. Pretzels do have salt, but is the chunky one that just give a little of taste to the whole stick. 

They are cooked in the oven. So they are "Fat Free" as in the "not fried" portion or category of the salty snacks as the potato chips you can get your hands on. And of course I had to have them while I am writing this post! (some of the inspiration came from that!) 

I really recommend to try them, of course, don't indulge too much on them, they are still carbohydrates from white flour, but it's nice to switch it up a little bit every once in a while. Plus the chunky salt will cause the retention of liquids, it absorbs them and them make you puff up. So that is a little bit of a problem. Don't worry, it will happen if you eat them 24/7. But if you just switch it up, with all the other healthy foods, every once in a while (as mentioned above) you'll be fine. 

I hope you like them as much as I do, plus how the pretzel was born is a very interesting story, and a yummy one too! you can check it out here if you want to. 

xo, 

S.A 

Workout Playlist 13

Hello Hello! I am back this time and on time! I hope you have a fresh start, and I feel I repeat myself every single Monday saying you all this. I am grateful to have amazing people in  my life and I'm proud to state that you are all in that category. Have a pumpkin' day!

1) My Girls- Christina Aguilera
2) Till the world ends- Britney Spears
3) Radar- Britney Spears
4) Cooler than me- Mike Posner
5) Rock that Body- The Black Eyed Peas

(totally thought this was tooooooo cute! I had to share <3) 

Nice Monday!!

xo,

S.A

picture from here.

Rrefreshing your fitness routine

On a very pretty Tuesday winter day, I have been caught up with the routine. I thought to myself, why not do some extra variation on what you do, fitness wise, instead of just doing the cycling and or walking? I have found that some fitness videos are a great way to keep you entertained and making everything a little more out of the "everyday" tids and bits of it.  

I recently came across Beach Body. A company that  make the various different workout and fitness videos, they also have some nutrition in the way (the whole package right?).

I already knew that their Insanity program is very popular and also their Brazil Butt Lift. I have heard very good reviews of them. I am thinking on trying them out to see how good are they. 

On their page, I saw that they are coming out with the Brazil Butt Lift Master Series (still in development) so if you have already the regular program you might want to step it up some more. Another program that has me sweating just by looking at it is the Asylum volume 2, from the insanity series. The video on the page just makes you oh so tired. But you can see that it gives a full body workout. Which, in my opinion, is not bad at all! 

But, there is always a but, I though that the asylum vol.2 was too advanced for me to try it just yet, maybe in the future, when I get used to it, I will try it. 

The one workout video I am most excited about, which is also in development and almost ready for pre-order, is the Les Mills Combat. Which is a mix of various martial arts. I love the stamina that the martial arts give to your body. They are great for fat burning. I used to do Tai-Chi with a Chinese expert in the art. I know what you are thinking...It's a sport for grannies...but it is more than it meets the eye. It is all about learning to use your inner strength and project it towards the attack of or "enemy". Well that was a little random, but I really enjoyed it. And if something is Asian and typical PLUS the combination of losing weight in a fun way, I will definitely try it! :) I am a little kid when it comes to having fun and doing the things I love <3

I hope you check all the new programs and see if some are a good fit for you and most importantly, that they help you get fit having fun and challenging yourself. 

Have a great day! 

xo, 

S.A

Picture from here.

Disclaimer: I was contacted by Beach Body to write this post and add their newer programs that are about to be released. I am not receiving any compensation from them in any form, all opinions are my own and I am most interested specially in the wellbeing if my readers so that you all have more options to get your healthy lifestyle on the top of your game :) 

Workout Playlist 9

Another Week begins and the routine does too! I have a very busy day today but I will make the best out of it. Lots and lots of new things to learn! and another day talking to you guys! which is what I like the most <3

Here are the songs for your day to begin smoothly and enjoy a good workout or walk or any other sport of choice!

1) Defying Gravity- Glee Cast
2) We'll be Alright- Travie McCoy
3) My Party- Kings of Leon
4) Dinosaur- Kesha
5) Girls (Who Run the World)- Beyonce

xo, 

S.A

picture from here. 

Workout Playlist 8

Now it's Monday, I have a thing about always telling you to start your day with a good workout, or walk, or run, just because I like to do it myself. It makes us happy people and will not be grumpy all day (or week). Music. It's all I can say by now since today marks 2 months with this little space in my blog, which I love. Let's celebrate it with some new songs ! <3

1) Celebration- Kool & The Gang (pretty appropriate right?) 

2) One More Night- Maroon 5

3) We are never ever getting back together- Taylor Swift (the longest song tittle ever I guess) 

4) Not myself tonight- Christina Aguilera

5) Who's that boy?- Demi Lovato 

Coffee Addict in Tea rehab

I've been drinking so much coffee lately that I feel it can't be good. The past few days, I've tried to get back down with it and try a healthier option, which is tea. I love tea also. I've drank  it all my life and my favourite one is Green Tea with Lemon Ginseng from Lipton, it is very good. I never drink it with sugar, I don't like the majority of my teas with sugar. 

Another kind of tea that I was recently introduced to was Red Tea. I had some scepticism about trying it, but finally did and pretty much love it. At first it tastes a little sour and strong, not a very pleasant sensation but, the next few sips, it gets better and better. 

A side from the taste and the actual colour, which is, ehhh well, red. It has great benefits for your health and is a great anti-oxidant. You may have wonder why Chinese and Asian people in general are so wrinkle free? well that is the answer. Go check some of the benefits red tea has here and let me know if you have tried it or if you would like to try it. 

A not-so-clear image of my cup of tea one night getting my read on. 

Hope your week is going great! 

xo, 

S.A  

Disclaimer: the page linked in the post is not aware I am doing this, they did not contacted me to write about teas or other topics. All opinions are my own and yes I do love tea also as much as I love coffee. :) 

Workout Playlist 6

It's Monday! Time to get your feet to work and to exercise what you didn't got to on the week end! 

I attempted a new welcome for my posts, how is it? I was kind of "in the mood" to switch it up. 

It's time for my take on workout music for the beginning of the week. As usual now for the last 5 weeks.  

1) Don't Be Shy- Small Change

2) Glad you came- The Wanted

3) Use Somebody- Kings of Leon 

4) Young, wild and free- Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg ft Bruno Mars

5) The Scientist- Coldplay

Some of them are special for slow workouts and reduced intensity. Some relaxation and "forget it all" music for the ones who have busy and stressful days. 

xo, 

S.A

Find me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Bloglovin'! <3

picture from here. 

Back to school: Snack Options

Hey Everyone! 

While I've been doing a ton of reading for classes just in 3 days back at Uni, I've figured out that snacking is constantly in my mind more than eating actual full meals. I am not skipping on them, it's just that I have more pick-me-ups through the day. 

What I'll do is eat breakfast early in the morning, keep with my routine (reading, writing, blogging, etc) and I'll get a little anxious, or just plain bored that I have to keep me busy with something else while doing it all, I'll grab 20 almonds, and eat them slowly so that I don't run out of them too fast, and drink some water or tea or coffee. Coffee is what the majority of university students indulge in most of the time. One can never have too many cups of it. 

After Lunch, sometimes I have class and I am busy paying attention to the professors and the subject that all I can manage, in a break, is grab an apple, or any other fruit that can be eaten with out making a mess out of it. And that is pretty much it, oh and the coffee to keep me awake. 

So snacking is your best friend students! keep that in mind.

Another idea is to get some proteins going, take a piece of grilled chicken breast and eat it in between meals. The protein will give you more energy to keep going. 

Also, having a snack in between foods will make you less hungry for the actual meal making you eat a little less than you would normally eat. This is a great tip for those who want to stay fitter and leaner and maintain a good weight range. 

I hope you guys liked this post from my little snacking life and that it is helpful in your everyday activities. 

xo, 

S.A 

apple picture from here. 

Workout Playlist 5

Hey Everyone!

Time to get back to the daily routine leading the end of the weekend. So I have a brand new list of songs you can use to rock your body while at the gym or working out at home!

1) Silly Boy- Rihanna ft Lady Gaga
2) Superbass- Nicki Minaj
3) Blackmail- The Runaways
4) You make me feel- Cobra Starship ft Sabi
5) What make you beautiful- One Direction
ps. did you see them at the closing ceremony yesterday?? AND the SPICE GIRLS? wow they haven't changed at all!! (crazy fan girl I know hahaha)

Rio I'll see you soon! 2016 <3

Have a great week everyone!!

xo,

S.A

Find me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Bloglovin'! <3

picture from here.