One For The Weekend: Healthy Waffles

Did you hear? Waffles are the new pancakes…NOT! They’re both great in different ways.   I was so excited when my waffle iron arrived in the post, especially after watching an episode of Chef Steps where they go on a waffle frenzy (things like mac and cheese and gyoza). If you have not checked them out on YouTube then I recommend you do so immediately, it’s my fave show at the minute. I got the waffle iron to change things up and I know you’re thinking that it’s a bit of a gimmick (and it probably is) but after watching Chef Steps, they prove there’s a multitude of ways to use this appliance. It brought me happiness anyway and sure that’s all that matters, right?

Of course the first recipe I had to try was a clean waffle recipe (even though Christy always tells me to practice the normal way first, I’m not very good at listening in that way!) I used a recipe similar to the 3 ingredient pancake recipe as I know it works. Just a little tip-waffle batter should be similar to pancake batter but thicker.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oats
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup almond milk (or water)
• 1 scoop vanilla protein
• 1 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
• 1 egg and 1 egg white
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt

Method:

1. Preheat your waffle iron.
2. In a nutribullet blend the oats until you get a flour-like consistency.
3. Add in all the other ingredients and blend for 1 min. Leave aside for 5 minutes to thicken.
4. Spray the waffle iron with oil (You can buy spray coconut oil in Tesco)
5. Pour the mixture over the segments, leaving the edges bare as they do expand.
6. Close the lid for 2 minutes, no peeping let it cook through.
7. Carefully remove and plate up with any toppings of your choice, I chose Nobo ice cream and frozen berries and it was perfect!

Slow Cooked Turkey

Just incase you didn’t have enough turkey at Christmas, here I am with a super easy and incredibly delicious slow cooker recipe! I had this 1kg slab of turkey breast and I wasn’t really sure what to do with it, I didn’t want it to go dry in the oven!

Eureka!! The slow cooker, the amazing kitchen tool that I always forget about! I’ve been using it a lot more this month, they are wonderful for low budget meals (perfect for January)!

This particular recipe is really simple, but you can add extra veg in or mess around with the spice blend for different flavours! I have also added in a brunch/lunch type recipe using the  turkey.

Ingredients:

• 1kg pure turkey breast
• 1 bottle tomato passata
• 1 pot Knorr chicken Stock Pot (28g Pot-no water)
• 2 gloves garlic crushed
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp mixed herbs
• 1 tsp chipotle powder or chilli powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• salt/pepper

Method:

1. Place the turkey in the slow cooker.
2. Pour the passata in and add add the spices and chicken stock (remember no water)
3. Stir it all up or you can use your hands to mix in the spices.
4. Turn the slow cooker on low.
5. Cook for 8-10 hours. (I cooked mine from 9pm until 7am.)

Recipe

Slow cooked turkey, smashed avocado and vine tomato/coriander dressing with a super clean wrap!

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp slow cooked turkey
• half an avocado
• 6 ripe vine tomatos chopped
• bunch of coriander chopped
• splash of extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Wrap

• 1 egg + 2 egg whites
• 1 tbsp tapioca flour
• 1/2-1 tbsp almond flour
• salt/pepper

Method

1. Scoop the avocado into a bowl and mash with a fork, squeeze in a bit of lemon or lime just and season, you can add chilli flakes for a little kick.
2. Add the tomato and coriander to a bowl with the olive oil and season.
3. To make the wrap, whisk the egg, flours and seasoning in a bowl.
4. Melt oil or good quality butter (I used coconut oil) in a pan over a medium heat.
5. Pour in the egg mix and cook on both sides.
6. Transfer to a plate and top with the turkey, smashed avocado and dressing.

Hope you enjoy!

 

 

 

To My 20 Year Old Self…

I turn 30 in 3 weeks and while it can be a pretty scary occasion, I’m actually excited! Yes, of course part of me is cursing under my breath, we’d all love the secret potion for eternal youth right? But, with age comes wisdom, confidence, security and excitement for the future. Let’s not forget if you want to eat ice-cream for breakfast, you can!!

20 Year Old Me

Self Love

If I’m honest there’s parts of my past I try to forget about, things I’m not proud of!  The hardest part to heal was my “Self Love”. I always felt this angst inside, not a teenage “no-one understands me” angst but a real lack of love for myself, resulting in a lot of self-destructive behaviour! I definitely suffered badly with body dysmorphia, even getting dressed day to day was hard. I would change 700 times and even when I decided what to wear,  it would always be something oversized and baggy! If it was hidden away I didn’t have to worry about it anymore.

The problem with not loving yourself is you can lack confidence to speak up, confronting people is a definite NO-NO and in my case, I let lot’s of people away with things I really shouldn’t have! It’s not worth getting upset about because we can’t change the past but we can change our future and I set out for that without even realising!

Time For Change

In 2009 I decided to get get fit again it had been years since I trained, unless you count dancing at music festivals exercise (I did lots of that, 6 Glastonburys in a row anyone?) It was around 2010 when I got the fitness bug with the Ronin Crossfit lads, they set up operation sandbag and then in 2011 they opened the gym! I’ve talked about my fitness journey in the Journey To My First Competition blogpost.

 

There’s been up and downs, but in the last couple of years I have really found peace with who I am and what I’ve achieved! Growing up I felt I was the short ass with the chunky legs, but hey short people make good weightlifters/crossfitters and you can’t lift heavy without a strong base! For each of us it can be something different, we can be so hard on ourselves but let’s make 2016 the year of “Self Love”.

One thing we don’t talk about enough is ourselves! It’s OK to compliment yourself; tell people you kicked ass in work, smashed a WOD, or how great you feel in your new dress? It can be hard. I’ve talked about it before, but keeping a journal is great for this, write it down and when you’re ready… Scream it from the rooftops!

So to my 20 year old self:

Lift your head and show yourself some love. You are a beautiful person who loves the world, so show yourself some love back! If you mess up that’s ok, your mistakes don’t and will not define you! You have nothing to worry about because the best is yet to come…. (oh and about that fringe, I’m not so sure about it #LegoHead)

 

Primal Piggy: Highlights And Memories 2015

As we come to the end of the year, I love to look back at all the great things that happened throughout the year! When I complied a list last year, it was done with a heavy heart as I lost my Na-Na only weeks before. Something I said last year was: My Na-Na told me I can achieve anything I want and to aways believe in myself. This will be my mantra for 2015 and I dedicate all my future achievements to her! I kept this memory close and great things happened, read on to find out the biggest change I made this year!

• Interview For FSM RX’d– Being interviewed and training alongside some of my favourite fitness ladies was awesome! I still feel bad for Stephen having to put up with us crazies laughing and screaming at him for hours! Surrounding yourself with strong positive people who inspire you, motivate you and push you to achieve your goals is the true key to success! Thanks for the memory guys!

• The Waterford Throwdown– I know I put this down last year but it was a highlight for me this year again! It was a real test to see how far I progressed from the previous year and I was delighted with my efforts. This year I could actually do pull ups, my weightlifting had come on heaps and I saw a massive difference in my overall fitness! I love this competition as you get to hang out with amazing people with the same passion.. I’m excited to do it again this year!

• 80kg Clean– This was definitely one of my favourite moments of 2015. If you saw the video of this achievement you can tell how “happy” I am (ok I lost it!!). It was a number I never thought I would actually hit and has given me a real hunger to compete in a weightlifting competition in the New Year.

• New Tattoo– Last month me and Mr.PP celebrated our 5 year anniversary by getting tattoos in Berlin (one of our fave cities). We went back to the insanely talented artist Valentin Hirsch and he designed tattoos for us using animals that we felt represented each other- I got a wolf and he got a lioness (blush…)

• Hello Auntie Aimee– Becoming an auntie again was obviously a huge highlight for me. Mr Finley came into out lives in August and he made everything shine a little brighter. He is our little hero and hopefully one day I can show him how to lift some weights 🙂

• Social Media Success– This has to be the biggest change in my life and one that I feel I need to pinch myself every so often! It was the biggest risk I’ve ever taken and as someone who has been working from the 17, pretty daunting! In August I left my secure admin job and started an unpaid internship in social media. It’s an industry I am so passionate about and for me this was my stepping stone to get involved! It was the hardest few months of my life as I delved into a completely new world with my only previous experience in SM being this blog! It took a lot of hard-work and I won’t lie even tears, but last month I was asked to join the team, I can happily say I am now a full time social media specialist and am so excited to see what 2016 brings me in this new adventure!

• Brand Ambassador– I have been engaging with the guys at Love Life Supplements for a quite a while now and I am a huge fan of the products. They work hard to bring us the cleanest, most natural supplements out there and deserve every bit of success for doing so! This year I was over the moon when they took me on board as their first brand ambassador, unlike a lot of companies they really look after me, making sure I am fuelled for training and any competitions. If you haven’t heard about them go check them out, the Primal Protein is fantastic and I have reports from friends who couldn’t tolerate whey, having no trouble with this stuff!

• Overcoming fears– Even as a kid who spend most of her teenage years doing performing arts, public speaking terrifies me! If I had to sing on front of people? No problem at all but ask me to talk and I crumble! This was something I really wanted to get over so when I was asked by the lovely Kelly Donegan to be part of a fitness panel for a charity event I said yes straight away. It was pretty scary the place was packed with bloggers, presenters, models etc but it was the best place to just go for it, every was lovely and the relaxed setting definitely helped! My second chance was for the Irish Health Bloggers meet up thanks to Fab Giovanetti and this was slightly more scary, I had no panel it was just me and my story. I stood on front of a room of brands and bloggers and made it happen! Watch this space in 2016!

I could keep adding to this list because there was so many highlights this year! But as I close off I want to thank every single person that continues to support me online and in my personal life, it means so much and gives me the drive to constantly do better! As for 2016…. let’s be having ya!!

Weight Loss Is Not A Destination

“I’ll be happy when I’m skinny”, “My life will be perfect when I lose this extra weight” How many times have you told yourself that? I know I have many times! I was always obsessed with my weight growing up. I was never big or overweight (I couldn’t see that!) and I was obsessed with being thin. I figured if I lost a bit here or got rid of some there, I would be happy and my life would be perfect. The reality was that trying to lose weight was awful. I wasn’t happy at all, it was stressful. When I lost weight, I was waiting for this magic wand to wave over me and my life would be perfect -guess what, it never happened!

It’s taken me almost a decade to really love my body, I have weightlifting to thank for that. When you realise the amazing things your body can do, you can’t help but love it! All those years of hating my legs because they weren’t slim like all the other girls, well now they have a purpose. These strong legs can clean 80kg now and that really blows my mind. This can be the same for you, find something that makes you truly unique and show yourself some love!

Please don’t waste time and energy trying to change who your are because you think you should look or act a certain way. I want you to do something for me – buy yourself a really nice journal and keep it beside your bed. Before you turn off the lights I want you write down something great you did that day (it can be anything at all) and one thing you love about yourself!

Don’t get sucked into what society thinks of you, because I can tell you the next person is 100% worrying about themselves too. Don’t compare yourself to others, I’ve said it before – it’s ok to be inspired by people, but DON’T try become that person. We are all unique butterflies and that is an amazing thing, so embrace your individuality!

If you ever want to talk about body image or you’re looking to find inner confidence, send me an email at primal piggy@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to talk to you. I’ve been there, I’ve suffered, but I overcame it and you can to!

 

Crobar: A Protein Bar With A Difference

I love trying new things, so I was excited when Christine Spliid from Crobar contacted me to try her bars! So what makes these bar so unique? Well, they are in fact made from crickets, yes crickets!! The bars are the first ever natural protein bar available on this side of the water to be made from cricket flour.

Why eat insects?

• Crickets contain more than twice as much iron as spinach and high levels of B12.
• Omit 80 times less CO2, and require significantly less water than cattle rearing.
• High in natural protein, as high as beef. They also contain 9 essential amino acids making them a complete source of protein.
• Less food waste, people eat crickets whole.
• Extremely sustainable.

As you can see there are great reasons to include crickets in your diet if you are brave enough!

The Bars

The bars weigh in at 40g and are available in 2 flavours; Cacao & Chia and Peanut Crunch. I got to try both!

Cacao & Chia Ingredients

Cashews (22.8%), Sunflower Seeds (17.3%), Sultanas (13%), Dates (10.4%), Chia Seeds (7.3%), Goji Berries (7.3%), Cricket Flour (6%), Cranberries (5.9%), Cacao Powder (5.4%), Humectant Glycerol, Pineapple Juice, and Cacao Butter (1%)

Peanut Crunch Ingredients (My favourite!)

Peanuts (37.4%), Sultanas (31.2%), Dates (12.5%), Sunflower Seeds (10.4%), Cricket Flour (6%), Humectant: Glycerol

I won’t lie, part of me was expecting some legs or antenna sticking out of the bars! When I opened the wrapper they looked like  a normal raw bar. A mixture of dates, nuts and seeds, nothing unusual! The bar wasn’t too sweet considering it has dates and fruit added, It tastes very natural and raw. I was a surprised to see how little cricket flour is added (6%) but the flavour was still there. I could definitely taste something different and that was the cricket flour I’m guessing! It’s not overpowering at all so don’t let that turn you off!

Where to Buy

You can buy CROBAR direct from the the CROBAR website. They’re not cheap though, the boxes come in sizes of 8 bars for £18.00 (€24) which works out at £2.25 (€3.10) per bar.

Verdict

I was really impressed with overall flavour and texture of the bars. They would make a great pre/post workout snack if you were looking for a carb hit! They’re not something I would eat everyday as they are a little high in natural sugars but definitely great snack for your hand/man bag! You can also buy packets of the cricket flour for £7 and you can use it for baking or mixed into raw recipes! I reckon that will be for the hardcore fans as there won’t be anything to hide the flavour!

Item sent for review purposes and all views are my own!