Celery and Cupcakes

The sun was still shining early this morning on my 5 mile run:

It was great to get out there at the crack of dawn, not only to avoid the burning rays but it was actually really peaceful as there was no traffic on the roads. I am loving my running at the moment even though I am.

I refueled with this awesome smoothie made from fresh pineapple, strawberries, a banana, romaine lettuce, ice, mango and peach coconut water.  It was topped with salted almonds (current addiction!), coconut and raisins!  Oh, this was good and super sweet!

I am still a little bit smoothie mad this weekend too as I have been all week!

Since I was working late on Friday and didn’t get home til 8.30pm I was still feeling a little bit peckish so I made a simple Chocolate and Almond Smoothie.  It included a banana, vegan chocolate protein powder, almond extract, ice, water, xanthan gum.  This was really thick and creamy and really hit the spot.  I topped it with some Sharpham Park Spelt Bran Flakes that I have been sent to review and some fresh blueberries…yum!

*Of course adding more toppings half way through was obligatory*

For breakfast on Saturday morning I was craving oats so I woke up especially early to get some overnight oats in the fridge made from oats and chia seeds soaked in water and hazelnut milk until they swell. Then I added some honey, blueberries and raspberries and had some iced green tea with lemon too.

Lunch yesterday I made a big ass salad with a yummy tahini dressing.  The salad included mixed salad leaves, cucumber, red peppers, tomatoes, my roasted strawberry balsamic vinegar chick peas.  I adore tahini in a dressing and this one didn’t disappoint with a mix of light tahini, apple cider vinegar, garlic and mixed herbs and a pinch of chilli.

I find it hard sometimes to watch other people outside through the office window enjoying the sunshine when I am stuck at work.  So yesterday I decided to bring the sunshine indoors with a snack of pineapple and blueberries.

Pineapple always makes me feel super summery!

When I got home I had some of the leftovers from the speedy vegetarian chilli that I made the other day with a huge socca wrap, which was bigger than my head and some roasted asparagus.

Whilst the asparagus was roasting in the oven I also threw in a butternut squash to roast too.  I used a huge chunk of the squash once it had cooled down to make some Sweet and Salty Butternut Squash Soft Serve.  This was so delicious that I had to share the recipe:

• 1/2 a cup of roasted butternut squash

• 2 tbsps of honey

• a pinch of salt

• ice

• 1.5 tsps of xanthan gum

This was the perfect desert on such a warm evening!

This  week my workouts have been pretty much the same as normal:

Monday:  Strength workout A with 20 minutes of HIITS on the bike and the cross trainer

Tuesday: 45 minutes of interval training on the treadmill, bike and cross trainer (20 minutes treadmill 10 minutes each on bike and cross trainer) plus an ab and core workout

Wednesday: REST

Thursday:  20 minutes on the cross trainer and bike plus 1 hour of Body Pump

Friday: Strength workout B with 20 minutes of HIITS on the bike and the cross trainer

Saturday: REST

Sunday:  5.1 mile run

It was so great to get back to my Body Pump class after 2 weeks away just due to the fact that I have had other things going on when the class is on and couldn’t make it.  I kept to my previous weight level and boy did I feel it!  It was such as sweat fest of a class too because of the heat.  I have always wanted to try Bikram yoga or Hot yoga but I think Hot Body Pump classes may catch on this summer, what do you think?

A few of you have been asking what app I use to load my pictures onto my Twitter page.  I am addicted to Instagram at the moment and have been using that to upload my pics. If you are on the Instagram bandwagon you can follow my feed under celerycupcakes.

What have you been up to this weekend?

What has been you’re your favourite eats from the weekend?

How have you been enjoying the sun?