Homemade Natural Sweetener

Guys this very simple sweetener is very easy to make, is 100% natural and you can use it on:

• coffee and tea
• oats
• smoothies
• pancakes
• on toast with almond butter (yummy!)
• to sweeten up greek yogurt
• on waffles 
• to sweeten healthy treats, etc, etc

And the best part you can store in the fridge for up to 4 weeks and it only contains 3 ingredients:

300 grams of Dates

300ml of Water

2 tablespoons of coconut oil

So simply melt the coconut oil in a saucepan and add the dates. On a very low heat, cook dates until they are very soft. Once done blend with water and voila! a delicious homemade natural sweetener. You really have to try to see how delicious it is.

TIP: If you swap the water for a can of coconut milk is actually delicious! Although high in calories but sure if you are maintaining you've nothing to worry!

Homemade Natural Sweetener

Guys this very simple sweetener is very easy to make, is 100% natural and you can use it on:

• coffee and tea
• oats
• smoothies
• pancakes
• on toast with almond butter (yummy!)
• to sweeten up greek yogurt
• on waffles 
• to sweeten healthy treats, etc, etc

And the best part you can store in the fridge for up to 4 weeks and it only contains 3 ingredients:

300 grams of Dates

300ml of Water

2 tablespoons of coconut oil

So simply melt the coconut oil in a saucepan and add the dates. On a very low heat, cook dates until they are very soft. Once done blend with water and voila! a delicious homemade natural sweetener. You really have to try to see how delicious it is.

TIP: If you swap the water for a can of coconut milk is actually delicious! Although high in calories but sure if you are maintaining you've nothing to worry!

Greek Style Salad Dressing

After I posted on my Instagram and Facebook page last week my usual oily salad dressing a lot of you my lovely readers requested a recipe which it had a more creamy consistency so as I love to please you all I came up with this fantastic recipe.

I loved it so much definitely making it every week. Its also delicious as a dip to munch away some wholemeal pitta bread or even raw veggies like carrots and celery for a super healthy snack!

Next time I make it I will blend with it a green spicy chilly for a little extra kick!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of fresh parsley
1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup of fresh basil
1/2 cup of extra Virgin olive oil
1/2 cup cero fat greek yogurt
1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese
Juice of 1/2 lime

Blend all ingredients on food processor and season with sea salt, black pepper and some crushed garlic. So creamy, healthy and delicious!

P.S. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat as: Mom Fitness Diary.

Greek Style Salad Dressing

After I posted on my Instagram and Facebook page last week my usual oily salad dressing a lot of you my lovely readers requested a recipe which it had a more creamy consistency so as I love to please you all I came up with this fantastic recipe.

I loved it so much definitely making it every week. Its also delicious as a dip to munch away some wholemeal pitta bread or even raw veggies like carrots and celery for a super healthy snack!

Next time I make it I will blend with it a green spicy chilly for a little extra kick!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of fresh parsley
1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup of fresh basil
1/2 cup of extra Virgin olive oil
1/2 cup cero fat greek yogurt
1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese
Juice of 1/2 lime

Blend all ingredients on food processor and season with sea salt, black pepper and some crushed garlic. So creamy, healthy and delicious!

P.S. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat as: Mom Fitness Diary.

HEALTHY NUTELLA

HEALTHY NUTELLA

Homemade healthy Nutella!  Yes thats right! It is healthy. Smells just like the original and it tastes amazing.

You have to try this by yourself! Use it over pancakes, a piece of toast, rice cakes or over fruit. 

Ingredients:

1 cup of hazelnuts
3 teaspoons of 100% cocoa or cacao powder
1 tablespoon of coconut oil melted
1 tablespoon of any natural sugars (like stevia, agave, honey etc) I used honey 
6 tablespoons of any milk of choice: almond, coconut, etc.

Pre-heat oven at 150 degrees celcius.

Toast the hazelnuts for 5-8 minutes  in the oven on a tray without oil. Once they are a little toasted put them in the blender and blend until they become powder. Add coconut oil to start make it creamy. Once this is done add the cocoa powder, honey and add milk slowly and see how much milk you actually need. To be honest I added a bit more because it was a bit dry.

Hope you enjoy this recipe!

HEALTHY NUTELLA

HEALTHY NUTELLA

Homemade healthy Nutella!  Yes thats right! It is healthy. Smells just like the original and it tastes amazing.

You have to try this by yourself! Use it over pancakes, a piece of toast, rice cakes or over fruit. 

Ingredients:

1 cup of hazelnuts
3 teaspoons of 100% cocoa or cacao powder
1 tablespoon of coconut oil melted
1 tablespoon of any natural sugars (like stevia, agave, honey etc) I used honey 
6 tablespoons of any milk of choice: almond, coconut, etc.

Pre-heat oven at 150 degrees celcius.

Toast the hazelnuts for 5-8 minutes  in the oven on a tray without oil. Once they are a little toasted put them in the blender and blend until they become powder. Add coconut oil to start make it creamy. Once this is done add the cocoa powder, honey and add milk slowly and see how much milk you actually need. To be honest I added a bit more because it was a bit dry.

Hope you enjoy this recipe!

Ferrero Protein Balls & Fitness Guru Casein Protein Review

Hi Guys! I have been trying that double-chocolate casein protein lately and have prepared the following review in case you fancy trying it!

First of all I am going to start answering two questions you might have:
1. Whats casein protein?
2. And wants the difference between casein and whey?

Ok, casein protein:

is a "slow" protein. When you consume casein, you will reach a peak in blood amino acids and protein synthesis between 3 to 4 hours.

Casein dramatically slows the rate as protein breakdown. Muscle growth is dependant on the balance of protein synthesis and breakdown.

With whey protein:

 It will take only 20-30 minutes before almost all of what you have consumed is coursing through your system.

The level of amino acids in your blood have had reached its high point. Within the hour it will have gone through the various metabolic processes.

So conclusion these two proteins are both excellent sources of all the essential amino acids, but they differ in one important aspect- whey is a fast-digesting protein and casein is a low-digesting protein.

So casein would be excellent to drink up last thing at night time as we spend so much time while we sleep without food the slow digestion will help our system to feel full and keep working making our metabolism faster during the night!

FITNESS GURU:

So this product is from Fitness guru and these protein taste delicious. I measure the quality of a protein through they nutritional value and also seeing how heavy is in the stomach as I've notice before that poor quality proteins makes my tummy very sick.

So I have to say that both whey proteins and this casein one from Fitness Guru are excellent on quality and flavour.

Going back to its nutritional values, I love the fact it keeps the proportion of carbohydrates, fat and lactose to a minimum! This protein has very little impact on blood sugar meaning you can burn fat while dieting.

So 1 scoop of this protein contains:
- 99 calories
- 1.1 grams of fat
- 2.3 grams of carbohydrates
- 20 grams of protein

This protein is also idela to bake some high protein treats which would be ideal to eat at night time as mentioned above.

So I came with this "Ferrero" protein balls are perfect for either before or after a work-out.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup of hazelnuts
- 1 cup of dates
- 1 scoop of Double chocolate casein protein
- 1 tablespoon of 100% cacao or pure cocoa

Blend all ingredients on food processor until you get a paste. Form balls and place them in a plastic box and keep inside the fridge.

They are crunchy, chocolate-y, delicious and very healthy.

You can buy this protein here: http://www.fitnessguru.com/ie/one-casein#double-rich-chocolate

Ferrero Protein Balls & Fitness Guru Casein Protein Review

Hi Guys! I have been trying that double-chocolate casein protein lately and have prepared the following review in case you fancy trying it!

First of all I am going to start answering two questions you might have:
1. Whats casein protein?
2. And wants the difference between casein and whey?

Ok, casein protein:

is a "slow" protein. When you consume casein, you will reach a peak in blood amino acids and protein synthesis between 3 to 4 hours.

Casein dramatically slows the rate as protein breakdown. Muscle growth is dependant on the balance of protein synthesis and breakdown.

With whey protein:

 It will take only 20-30 minutes before almost all of what you have consumed is coursing through your system.

The level of amino acids in your blood have had reached its high point. Within the hour it will have gone through the various metabolic processes.

So conclusion these two proteins are both excellent sources of all the essential amino acids, but they differ in one important aspect- whey is a fast-digesting protein and casein is a low-digesting protein.

So casein would be excellent to drink up last thing at night time as we spend so much time while we sleep without food the slow digestion will help our system to feel full and keep working making our metabolism faster during the night!

FITNESS GURU:

So this product is from Fitness guru and these protein taste delicious. I measure the quality of a protein through they nutritional value and also seeing how heavy is in the stomach as I've notice before that poor quality proteins makes my tummy very sick.

So I have to say that both whey proteins and this casein one from Fitness Guru are excellent on quality and flavour.

Going back to its nutritional values, I love the fact it keeps the proportion of carbohydrates, fat and lactose to a minimum! This protein has very little impact on blood sugar meaning you can burn fat while dieting.

So 1 scoop of this protein contains:
- 99 calories
- 1.1 grams of fat
- 2.3 grams of carbohydrates
- 20 grams of protein

This protein is also idela to bake some high protein treats which would be ideal to eat at night time as mentioned above.

So I came with this "Ferrero" protein balls are perfect for either before or after a work-out.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup of hazelnuts
- 1 cup of dates
- 1 scoop of Double chocolate casein protein
- 1 tablespoon of 100% cacao or pure cocoa

Blend all ingredients on food processor until you get a paste. Form balls and place them in a plastic box and keep inside the fridge.

They are crunchy, chocolate-y, delicious and very healthy.

You can buy this protein here: http://www.fitnessguru.com/ie/one-casein#double-rich-chocolate

HEALTHY PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CAKE

Guys on Friday I was having a bad day and was dyeing to have a chocolate or a chocolate cake or anything chocolate-y! But refused to be bold plus I didn't have any bold treats in the house anyway; so I decided to invent a recipe that would kill those cravings with ingredients that I had at home.

I was doing this in snapchat and I was like: "please don't copy this recipe until is done" because I didn't have a clue how it was going to turn out. But needless to say it was AMAZING! so definitely doing this recipe again soon.

I made this for hubby and I so if its just for yourself halve the ingredients. Or keep half of it for the next day.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
2 tablespoons of almond ground
1/2 cup of powder peanut butter ( I used chocolate PB2) You can boy PB2 on herbs.ie
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 teaspoon of 100% cocoa
1 teaspoon of baking powder
I added a squeeze of sweet freedom. (you can use honey instead, about 3 or 4 teaspoons)

Blend all Ingredients in food processor and pout mixture into any mould or cupcake cases. (I used a silicone cupcake mould)

Bake in a preheated oven at 150 degrees Celcius for 15 minutes.

HEALTHY PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CAKE

Guys on Friday I was having a bad day and was dyeing to have a chocolate or a chocolate cake or anything chocolate-y! But refused to be bold plus I didn't have any bold treats in the house anyway; so I decided to invent a recipe that would kill those cravings with ingredients that I had at home.

I was doing this in snapchat and I was like: "please don't copy this recipe until is done" because I didn't have a clue how it was going to turn out. But needless to say it was AMAZING! so definitely doing this recipe again soon.

I made this for hubby and I so if its just for yourself halve the ingredients. Or keep half of it for the next day.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
2 tablespoons of almond ground
1/2 cup of powder peanut butter ( I used chocolate PB2) You can boy PB2 on herbs.ie
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 teaspoon of 100% cocoa
1 teaspoon of baking powder
I added a squeeze of sweet freedom. (you can use honey instead, about 3 or 4 teaspoons)

Blend all Ingredients in food processor and pout mixture into any mould or cupcake cases. (I used a silicone cupcake mould)

Bake in a preheated oven at 150 degrees Celcius for 15 minutes.

My Gym Workout Routine

Hi guys. I get asked a lot my gym routine and the reason I haven't post it before is because I change it every 6 weeks. You can't stick to the same routine for ever! You need to change it up as your body can reach plateau so you need to give body a boost every 6 weeks. Another reason to change it up is to hit different muscles fibres you haven't hit before.

You don't have to change it completely but change 1 or 2 exercises per muscle group and definitely making sure you are going up on weights to get stronger, more toned and leaner!

This routine is very good. Is designed by a personal trainer and myself and it has the very basic and very functional exercises that will give you a whole body toning. 

About the repetitions I will specify on each type of exercise. Some exercises will need 4 sets, some only 3. If you want muscle growth do 12 reps if you want more definition go for 15.

So you can print this routine. Identify the equipment at your gym and just go and do it!

To know how much weight you should be lifting grab "x" weight number and lift it, do the exercise, and if you can do more than 15 reps then is too light. If you can do 10 or 12 pushing it that's your weight!

I start each work out running running for one kilometre at a medium speed on treadmill which it takes me 6 minutes.

My cardio consist on doing a HIIT on tread mill which means running 1 minute at 12.0 speed then walking 1 minute at 8.00 speed and so on until I complete 30 minutes which is exactly 5k.

Each session takes me exactly one hour to complete including cardio

So I work out 4 times a week as following:

Monday: Biceps & Triceps + cardio 

Tuesday: Leg, glutes & Abs

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: Chest & Shoulders + cardio 

Friday: Back + cardio

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: SOMETIMES if I have time and I want to I do only cardio and Abs.

So let's star with MONDAY:

1. Bicep Curls:  (3 sets of 12-15)

2. Tricep Extension: On picture above dumbbell is grabbed with two hands but I do it with just one hand. Stretch your arm up grabbing a dumbbell and bring it down behind your neck. Repeat on each arm. (3 sets of 12-15)

3. Hammer Curl: Simply grab your weight as on picture above and bring them up to touch your shoulder alternating with right and left hand (3 sets of 12-15 reps)

4. Tricep Dips: Using your own body weight grab any stool, bench or chair. Set your self at the edge and go up and down as shown on pic above. (3 sets of 15-20 reps)

5. Tricep kickback: Position yourself on a bench or on a flat area and bend your elbow to a 90 degree angle and kick your back back as lady in picture. (3 sets of 12-15 reps)

6. Incline bicep curl: Use an incline bench and grabbing two dumbbells curl your biceps doing both arms at the same time. Make sure you don't bend your back doing this. (3 sets of 12-15)

7. Is the same tricep kickback from number 5. (I repeated picture. Sorry about it)

8. Cable push down. I use machine at gym to do this exercise just as shown on picture. (3 sets of 12-15)

9. Using same machine I do cable curl. 

TUESDAY:

1. Squats (4 sets of 12-15 reps)

2. Straight legStiff Deadlift (4 sets of 12-15 reps)

3. Leg Press (4 sets of 12-15 reps)

4. Leg Curl (3 sets of 12- 15 reps)

5. Walking Lunges with weights on each side (3 sets go 16 steps)

6. Gluteus kick-ups with ankle weights (3 sets of 20)

7. Straight leg up and down with ankle weights (3 sets of 20)

8. Glute bridges: I do this with a dumbbell on my tummy/hips for a better result (3 sets of 20 reps)

THURSDAY:

1. Bench Press (4 sets of 12-15 reps)

2. Incline Bench Press (4 sets of 12-15)

3. Incline flys (3 sets of 12-15)

4. Dumbell Pullover (3 sets of 12-15)

5. Shoulder press (4 sets of 12-15)

6. Rear delt fly (3 sets of 12-15)

7. Lateral raise (3 sets of 12-15)

FRIDAY:

1. Deadlift  (4 sets of 12-15 reps)

2. Bent over row (4 sets of 12-15 reps)

3. Lat pull down on machine (3 sets of 12-15 reps)

4. Cable pull up (3 sets of 12-15 reps)

5. Cable pull down (3 sets of 12-15 reps)

6. Chin-ups on machine standing up. Picture above lady is on knees (4 sets of 12)

7. single arm row (3 sets of 12-15 reps)

TUESDAYS AFTER LEG AND ON SUNDAYS AFTER CARDIO:

1. crunches (4 sets of 15)

2. Side bikes (4 sets of 40. 20 on each side)

3. Straigh leg crunch with weight (4 sets of 20)

4. Plank (4 sets of 1 minute each)

My Gym Workout Routine

Hi guys. I get asked a lot my gym routine and the reason I haven't post it before is because I change it every 6 weeks. You can't stick to the same routine for ever! You need to change it up as your body can reach plateau so you need to give body a boost every 6 weeks. Another reason to change it up is to hit different muscles fibres you haven't hit before.

You don't have to change it completely but change 1 or 2 exercises per muscle group and definitely making sure you are going up on weights to get stronger, more toned and leaner!

This routine is very good. Is designed by a personal trainer and myself and it has the very basic and very functional exercises that will give you a whole body toning. 

About the repetitions I will specify on each type of exercise. Some exercises will need 4 sets, some only 3. If you want muscle growth do 12 reps if you want more definition go for 15.

So you can print this routine. Identify the equipment at your gym and just go and do it!

To know how much weight you should be lifting grab "x" weight number and lift it, do the exercise, and if you can do more than 15 reps then is too light. If you can do 10 or 12 pushing it that's your weight!

I start each work out running running for one kilometre at a medium speed on treadmill which it takes me 6 minutes.

My cardio consist on doing a HIIT on tread mill which means running 1 minute at 12.0 speed then walking 1 minute at 8.00 speed and so on until I complete 30 minutes which is exactly 5k.

Each session takes me exactly one hour to complete including cardio

So I work out 4 times a week as following:

Monday: Biceps & Triceps + cardio 

Tuesday: Leg, glutes & Abs

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: Chest & Shoulders + cardio 

Friday: Back + cardio

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: SOMETIMES if I have time and I want to I do only cardio and Abs.

So let's star with MONDAY:

1. Bicep Curls:  (3 sets of 12-15)

2. Tricep Extension: On picture above dumbbell is grabbed with two hands but I do it with just one hand. Stretch your arm up grabbing a dumbbell and bring it down behind your neck. Repeat on each arm. (3 sets of 12-15)

3. Hammer Curl: Simply grab your weight as on picture above and bring them up to touch your shoulder alternating with right and left hand (3 sets of 12-15 reps)

4. Tricep Dips: Using your own body weight grab any stool, bench or chair. Set your self at the edge and go up and down as shown on pic above. (3 sets of 15-20 reps)

5. Tricep kickback: Position yourself on a bench or on a flat area and bend your elbow to a 90 degree angle and kick your back back as lady in picture. (3 sets of 12-15 reps)

6. Incline bicep curl: Use an incline bench and grabbing two dumbbells curl your biceps doing both arms at the same time. Make sure you don't bend your back doing this. (3 sets of 12-15)

7. Is the same tricep kickback from number 5. (I repeated picture. Sorry about it)

8. Cable push down. I use machine at gym to do this exercise just as shown on picture. (3 sets of 12-15)

9. Using same machine I do cable curl. 

TUESDAY:

1. Squats (4 sets of 12-15 reps)

2. Straight legStiff Deadlift (4 sets of 12-15 reps)

3. Leg Press (4 sets of 12-15 reps)

4. Leg Curl (3 sets of 12- 15 reps)

5. Walking Lunges with weights on each side (3 sets go 16 steps)

6. Gluteus kick-ups with ankle weights (3 sets of 20)

7. Straight leg up and down with ankle weights (3 sets of 20)

8. Glute bridges: I do this with a dumbbell on my tummy/hips for a better result (3 sets of 20 reps)

THURSDAY:

1. Bench Press (4 sets of 12-15 reps)

2. Incline Bench Press (4 sets of 12-15)

3. Incline flys (3 sets of 12-15)

4. Dumbell Pullover (3 sets of 12-15)

5. Shoulder press (4 sets of 12-15)

6. Rear delt fly (3 sets of 12-15)

7. Lateral raise (3 sets of 12-15)

FRIDAY:

1. Deadlift  (4 sets of 12-15 reps)

2. Bent over row (4 sets of 12-15 reps)

3. Lat pull down on machine (3 sets of 12-15 reps)

4. Cable pull up (3 sets of 12-15 reps)

5. Cable pull down (3 sets of 12-15 reps)

6. Chin-ups on machine standing up. Picture above lady is on knees (4 sets of 12)

7. single arm row (3 sets of 12-15 reps)

TUESDAYS AFTER LEG AND ON SUNDAYS AFTER CARDIO:

1. crunches (4 sets of 15)

2. Side bikes (4 sets of 40. 20 on each side)

3. Straigh leg crunch with weight (4 sets of 20)

4. Plank (4 sets of 1 minute each)

EVB SHORTS REVIEW

Guys, I've been trying these shorts for the past few weeks and I can finally write my thoughts on them. So, I would like by starting with the fact that EVB Sport is an Irish owned company. It started when Yvonne, mother of two, realised that after having two kids she couldn't work out the same as before, due to post-pregnancy pelvic weakness that happens to all of us, but can be difficult to talk about.

Yvonne designed the shorts to help other mothers out there to feel confident and more comfortable when exercising, to recover their bodies after giving birth! She was actually on Dragons Den which she won in 2014.

The shorts have a triple-layer fabric that really helps to make you feel pulled in, but at the same time very comfortable!

So, this is what the shorts do:

• You get an amazing abdominal support, due to the high waisted shape that not only keeps your tummy in place, it keeps it in! You definitely get "pulled up & in" during any hard exercises.
• If you suffer from bladder leaks, or even if you are having your period, it will keep your pad in place and because of the sewings of the shorts nobody will ever notice you are wearing one!
• The shorts genuinely give you a very nice figure. I feel more confident wearing them. Bum up!
• The tightness of the shorts not only give you a nice support for your tummy but also to your lower back, especially if you suffer from lower back pains!

The shorts only come in black which is obviously a pity as I think they would look awesome with different colours and patterns. But at the same time you can never go wrong with black!

When I first got my pair I thought that the stitch lines of the shorts would be noticeable when wearing them, but they are not. They are extremely comfortable and give you a very nice shape.

They retail at €59.95 and you can get them on: http://evbsport.com

EVB SHORTS REVIEW

Guys, I've been trying these shorts for the past few weeks and I can finally write my thoughts on them. So, I would like by starting with the fact that EVB Sport is an Irish owned company. It started when Yvonne, mother of two, realised that after having two kids she couldn't work out the same as before, due to post-pregnancy pelvic weakness that happens to all of us, but can be difficult to talk about.

Yvonne designed the shorts to help other mothers out there to feel confident and more comfortable when exercising, to recover their bodies after giving birth! She was actually on Dragons Den which she won in 2014.

The shorts have a triple-layer fabric that really helps to make you feel pulled in, but at the same time very comfortable!

So, this is what the shorts do:

• You get an amazing abdominal support, due to the high waisted shape that not only keeps your tummy in place, it keeps it in! You definitely get "pulled up & in" during any hard exercises.
• If you suffer from bladder leaks, or even if you are having your period, it will keep your pad in place and because of the sewings of the shorts nobody will ever notice you are wearing one!
• The shorts genuinely give you a very nice figure. I feel more confident wearing them. Bum up!
• The tightness of the shorts not only give you a nice support for your tummy but also to your lower back, especially if you suffer from lower back pains!

The shorts only come in black which is obviously a pity as I think they would look awesome with different colours and patterns. But at the same time you can never go wrong with black!

When I first got my pair I thought that the stitch lines of the shorts would be noticeable when wearing them, but they are not. They are extremely comfortable and give you a very nice shape.

They retail at €59.95 and you can get them on: http://evbsport.com