Saturday 31 July 2010

Cupcaked out

The past 2 weeks I've done hundreds of cupcakes, not complaining though as it's all extra money!!!


This week I was supposed to be doing a kind of detox, well the past week days I haven't really stuck to it. So not sure how weigh in will be on Monday. Finding it hard to stay motivated at the moment. PLus I haven't been doing my workouts. I need to get myself back on track!!

This is only a short post as my little nephew Connor is staying tonight so got to get things sorted. We have a dinosaur money box to paint!!

Will catch up later xx

Wednesday 28 July 2010

I love sushi!


Hi guys,

This week I put on 2lbs- was expected though. Not been for a couple of weeks with the hen party etc. This week is a detox week. It's not one of those hardcore ones but it's having lots of juice, soup and not many carbs.
This mornings breakfast was a pear, apple, orange and ginger jiuce. Yummy! Really tasted nice. Loved the ginger in it.


Me and my mum (below) went to Milton Keynes today so I could buy some fabric in John Lewis and to have lunch at !Yo Sushi. OMG I love it there! Can't wait to go back. So delish.




They had a beach in the shopping centre!!!


This afternoon I had some cupcakes to do and then I did some admin/PR work for my dad. As I don't have a job at the mo he's paying me to do some bits for him. Here's a cupcake pic:-) My website is www.jessicascupcakes.com




Dinner was a chicken and veg stirfry. Really nice and filling and just seasoned with soy sauce. Nice and simple.



Right it's late so I need to go to bed. See ya tomorrow guys.



xx














Sunday 25 July 2010

Sorry!

So sorry for lack of blogging this week. I've been busy looking for a job and a house. Plus I've had loads of cupcake orders to do this week.

Found the perfect house! I cannot wait to move in on Sept 10th! Something to look forward to!!!

Just need a job now....

Anyway sorry for not posting. Normal blooging will resume tomorrow along with a bit of a detox week from Zest's Bikini body made easy.

xx

Monday 19 July 2010

Hen Do!

Hi guys, hope you all had a good weekend. I went to Nottingham for my best friends Hen do. We had a blast. I've put a couple of pics below.
I'm not going to talk about what I ate while I was away as it's NOT healthy. But back on track tomorrow!!!

Anyway here is a pic of the group




And a pic of us dressed as Gangsters for our night out






Willy straws!


And me.. being me!


For some reason randoms pictures are showing up on my blog from the site I got my background template. Trying to sort it as it's very annoying!!!

I think from next week i'm going to do Zest's Bikini Body Made Easy. It's a 6 week diet and exercise plan that is tailor-made for your body type. The first week is a detox week which involves a lot of juices, nuts, seeds, fruit, fish and veg.

I got a juicer today! Wanted one for a long time and tody in Argos they had one half price at £9.99 and it works fab. So bring on the juices!!!

Exercise today was 30 minutes on the cross trainer on fat burn programme then 10 minutes of weights and resistance.

Bedtime reading: Top 10 Healthy Snacks

Thursday 15 July 2010

Nearly the weekend!!

I'm super excited as tomorrow I'm going on Cat's Hen weekend!! We are off tomorrow lunchtime to Nottingham for 2 nights. A meal out on the Friday night, a daytime activity on Saturday and the main night out Sat night- dressed as gangsters! So I have so much stuff to get ready for tomorrow so this will be a quick update!
Breakie this morning was a 1 egg and 2 egg white omelette with mushrooms.



I then had a cupcake order to do....



Lunch was prawn and buckwheat noodle broth- yum. not had it for a while!



Then did lots of boring things that needed to be done and then did 30 mins on the cross trainer.

Dinner was a bit of a treat- Fajita's! Lush!!!



I then fancied something sweet before bed so had a bowl of cornflakes. I lurve cornflakes.

Right I'm sorry it's such a short boring post but I need to get ready for tomorrow :-)

Jess xx

Wednesday 14 July 2010

Rainy days

Evening! Today it was building up to a massive rainstorm. You could feel it in the air and tonight it chucked it down big time! At least I don't need to water the veggies tomorrow!

Breakfast this morning was power toast (wholemeal toast with peanut butter and mixed seeds on top).

Then our landlord came round with an estate agent to measure up the house and value it. Can't believe we are going to have to move :-( I hope we find somewhere suitable in our price range.

I then went to pick my mum up and she treated me to lunch. It was a thai buffet. I couldn't take any pics as the restaurant was quite intimate and would have looked a bit of an idiot setting my flash off!!!

I then popped to see Lydia as she has a chest infection. Then I grabbed a few bits from the supermarket.

For an afternoon pep up I had a Starbucks chilled latte
Once home I made some homemade peanut butter cups as Phil requested them. He loves them!!!! Idea of which I got from HEABs. I never need to buy them again! However I must must limit the intake of them! Today I had 2. Not good!!!!!!


Dinner was trout fillet seasoned and with a squeeze of lemon, a jacket potato with a smidge of cheese and kale with garlic and chilli.


Me and Phil watched the last 2 episodes of season 10 CSI:Crime Scene Investigation. Fab season!

I then did 40 minutes of yoga followed by a 20 minute guided meditation. So now I'm nice and chilled.

Need to start sorting out my clothes and things I need for this weekend! Hen Weekend baby. Can't wait!

Here is a clip of the Ministry of Sound Pump it Up workout DVD I got yesterday. I'll post one of the Clubland one in a later post. It's great fun and hard work. But I'm finding the dance moves difficult to learn- maybe with doing a few times I'll get better!




What are your plans this weekend?

Jess xx

Tuesday 13 July 2010

Happy Tuesday

Hi guys, hope you've had a fab day. Today I had an interview! I think it went well. I won't find out for a couple of weeks if I've got through to the 3rd interview which will be a presentation. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Breakfast was 2 yummy eggs on wholemeal toast. Was feeling super hungry this morning.


After my interview I popped in to see my nan and it got to 3pm and I was starving for lunch so she made me a lean beef and salad sandwich in poppyseed wholemeal bread. Was such a nice sarnie!! Thanks Nan xx


Then I went back home and did the Pump up DVD for the 1st time. My god I got sweaty! It was very hard as the dance moves are very quick and quite hard to get so I did a lot of jogging on the spot or knee lifts when I lost track. I'm hoping with practice I'll get better. Also as I lose weight I hope I can move with a bit more grace as the dancers make it look so sexy and me stomping around is not!!! lol. Tomorrow the Clubland workout should arrive. I may try it tomorrow or may do my yoga DVD but will let you know once I try clubland.

Phil had football tonight so that meant having dinner later and I was really hungry so I did an egg puff a`la Fitnessista. It was yum- I put a few drops of tabasco on.


I then mooched around reading my Zest magazine and watched Eastenders then Phil got home so was time for dinner! A yummy chicken and courgette pesto pasta with some kale on the side. I mixed some chilli, garlic and lemon juice through the kale and it worked really well with the pesto.


Here is a cutie Daisy having a snooze!

Right I'm off to get ready for bed! Catch ya later.

Jess xx

Monday 12 July 2010

Jealous of my American friends!

Everyone is talking about Turbo Fire. It's a new workout from Chalene Johnson and it looks awesome, very hard but awesome! But it only seems to be available in the USA. I'm hoping they release it here!

But to keep me happy I've got 2 more workout DVDs as I only have 2 and they aren't really that hard. So I have got Ministry of Sound: The Ultimate Dance Workout Pump it Up and Clubland: The Workout of your Life. I've just had a quick look at the Pump it Up DVD and it looks fab. Great songs and workouts. Just hope I can do them! My coordination isn't the best!

Today for breakie I had a slice of wholemeal toast with a poached egg and bacon with all fat removed. Nice :-)


I then did a 30 min cardio workout from my Move More dvd. It was fab :-)

Lunch was a 3 egg white omelette with a sprinkle of paprika and a coconut water.


For a snack later I was a bit naughty and had one of my homemade Lemon and Poppy seed muffins with a cuppa. Was glorious though!!!

I then made some cupcakes for an order tomorrow and made some phone calls and boring stuff like paperwork!

Dinner was pad thai. I luuurve pad thai and I managed to find some brown pad thai noodles which was fab. I chucked in some chicken, prawns, spring onions, chilli, carrot etc. Yumness.


Tomorrow I have an interview. So need to do some prep for that! Fingers crossed!!!

Question: Who is your body inspiration? Mine is Deanne Berry and Kelly Brook

Sunday 11 July 2010

Heatwave!

We are having some HOT weather here at the moment. Not complaining!

Hope everyone has had a good weekend. Mine went a little like this....

Friday me and my sister were going to go for a nice dim sum lunch together...my tyre blew on the way so we were stranded at the side of the road for 2.5 hours in the baking heat waiting for the RAC man! I have some weird tan/sunburn lines! Was not fun!

My car :-(

Friday night me and Phil spent most of the night watching Sky news on Rauol Moat. For those of you who don't know he was Britain's most wanted man last week and after a week long man hunt it ended with a stand off between him and the police. He then shot himself early hours Saturday morning. I know not a fun filled weekend yet!

Saturday we had a little lie in then took my car to get a new tyre. We then went into town and had lunch. I chose Cromer crab cakes with salad a new potatoes. Delish! I got a few little treats for myself, some new summery nail polishes and a nice electric blue eyeliner.

Crab cakes

I also got some Kallo chocolate rice thins. Really yummy and only 51 kcals and soothes that choco craving!!!

Saturday night we met up with some friends for drinks and then got in about 1am.

This morning I made me and Phil a bacon and potato frittata for breakie. Yum!

We then mooched around the supermarket for a couple of things for us to put on the BBQ.

I made some lemon and poppyseed muffins for Phil to take to work. And kept a couple by for us- really yummy.


So for lunch and dinner we had a nice BBQ feast!

Lunch: Spicy chicken and veg kebabs and salad.


Dinner: Mackerel (I did a paprika and garlic rub to go on it), sweetcorn, courgettes (with a spice rub of chilli flakes, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and pepper) and some sautéed potatoes. A good feast!

Now I'm going to plan some meals for next week, do some kundalini yoga, then a bath with a hair and face pack and read my book. Bliss!

Yesterday I made some goals/targets for July/August for me:
  • Lose 7lbs (by 2/8/10)
  • Do yoga 3 times per week
  • Exercise 3 times per week
  • Drink 2 litres of water per day
  • Eat 3 portions of fruit and veg per day ( I know you should have 5 but working it up)
  • Eat 2 portions of fish per week



Question for today: What are your diet/fitness goals?

Thursday 8 July 2010

Hi di hi campers, not long until the weekend now! I'm looking forward to spending some time with Phil as the last few weekends we have spent with family/friends. Nice to get some alone time. Also need to sort a load of stuff out for car boot and to get rid of. Especially as we will have to move soon so want to get things sorted.

At weight watchers this week I lost 0.5lbs. Not too bad but I really want to be losing 2lbs per week so need to step it up. Good news is yesterday I started my workouts again! It's been a month that i've not exercised for because of me recovering from my op but I think i'm back to full swing now! So yesterday started with a 30 min on the cross trainer. This morning woke up and did 20 mins Kundalini yoga. I got Maya Fiennes "Yoga for Real Life" and her DVD "Detox and de-stress" Loving them loads!

After yoga I had a breakfast of a 2 egg and 1 white omlette with ham and a coffee.

My sister came round so I could teach her some basic excel and we just chilled out a bit. Then lunch was a courgette and veg soup I made- really yum. With some wholemeal bread and a yoghurt.



Snack wise I've had a banana and a weight watchers cranberry and orange cereal bar.
Dinner was a special egg rice made with brown rice. Like egg fried rice but a healthier version!


Here is a strawberries and cream cupcake recipe that's a bit lower on the kcals and fat then the normal ones I sell!! Per cake 194 kcals and 5.1g fat.

Makes 12

Ingredients

  • 2 medium free range egg
  • 150g fructose sugar
  • 200g peeled and grated courgette
  • Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 100g rice flour
  • 100g ground almonds
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 100g low cal jam

For the icing

  • 150g fructose sugar
  • 2 tbsp crushed strawberries
  • ¼ tsp crème tartar
  • 1 egg white
  • Pinch of salt
  • Fresh strawberries to top

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Whisk up the eggs and fructose sugar in a large mixing bowl until pale and fluffy. Whisk the grated courgette and the vanilla extract into the egg mixture until well incorporated. Finally, whisk in the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, lemon zest and salt until everything is combined.

3. Using a large spoon, ladle a couple of generous spoonfuls of the mixture into the bottom of each paper case. Add a teaspoon of jam, then cover that with a small spoonful of mixture, in order to seal in the jam.

4. Place in the oven for 20 minutes until risen and blonde on top. Once the cupcakes are cooked, cool them in a tin for 10 minutes. Cool the completely in the fridge for a further 20 minutes, as they need to be cold before icing.

For the meringue icing:

1. Place all the ingredients in a big mixing bowl over a pan of boiling water. Stir with a clean metal spoon for 2 minutes exactly to dissolve the sugar.

2. When the mixture is warm and the 2 minutes are up, remove the bowl from the heat and beat with a whisk. Whisk for 9 minutes until cool. The mixture is ready to use when it’s standing up like snow-covered Swiss peaks.

3. If piping the icing, simply fill your piping bag in the usual way. Be sure to ice the cakes very quickly, as the icing will start to set and alter its flexibility as it sits.

Monday 5 July 2010

Jobless bum

Hi peeps, Hope everyone is well. Sorry for being quiet the past few weeks. Had a bit of a tough time. Without going into detail I just could not cope with my job anymore so handed in my resignation. So looking for something else. It was a big decision to make as me and Phil have not been in a good financial position for about 18 months but my mental health is more important! But I'm thinking positive and that something fab will come up.

Health wise I've been a very bad girl on the diet.As you know I've been recovering from an operation and haven't been able to exercise and it's made me get into old habits.

Need to pull my socks up and get it sorted! Today I'm going to get back on the cross trainer and see how it feels as I've not had any pain really for a week.

Need to also get back on the healthy food wagon, been eating pretty much what I wanted. We all have blips but I need to turn this around now before it turns into a more permanent blip :-0

Not taken any foodie pics as been eating naughty things so here's a couple of randoms.

Here is a cupcake tower I did for a wedding. Mix of vanilla, strawberry and lemon. www.jessicascupcakes.com


And here is me (middle) with two of my best friends Niccie (R) and Lydia (L)


Right i'm off job hunting and meal planning!

Jess xx