Overnight Protein Oats with Herbalife24

Overnight Protein Oats with Herbalife24

This is a recipe that everyone loves and I receive so many requests for, so, here it is… Enjoy as a breakfast, or, ideally, after your Formula 1 healthy breakfast – as a mid-morning snack. My husband loves it as an after dinner healthy snack, so, take your pick…

It is perfectly balanced, with fibre coming from oats, protein, vitamins and minerals from our cutting edge Herbalife24 Rebuild Strength shake (20 gr) with a distinctive chocolate flavour and healthy fats from almond or peanut butter…

What You Need

  • 125 ml of Dark Chocolate Almond/ Soya Milk (under 45 calories per 100ml) or Coconut Milk (Under 25 calories per 100 ml),
  • 30 grams of porridge oats (preferably organic, plain),
  • Rebuild Strength/ Protein Drink Mix (PDM) – 2 scoops per serving (10/15 gr protein)
  • 3 almonds or 1 teaspoon of plain almond/ peanut butter (no sugar/ salt).

Method

Blend 125 ml of Dark Chocolate Almond or Soya Milk or Coconut Milk with 2 Scoops of PDM or 2 Scoops of Rebuild Strength (in the USA – 1 Scoop of Rebuild Strength) and pour over 30 grams of Porridge Oats.


Store in the fridge overnight (or make in the morning and allow 2 hours before eating) and serve for Meal 2 with 3 almonds or 1 teaspoon of plain almond or peanut butter.

Become the best version of yourself… Start today!

In the end, our health is usually one thing we CAN have control over and if you are someone at the start of your journey, remember that Rome has not been built in one day and our attempt to improve our physique and health should pretty much be approached with bearing the same in mind…

We need a plan, patience & vision.

Those with vision move even in darkness.

Our vision for ourselves is best when not focused on the outside appearance alone as our health and beauty are a lot more than just skin deep.

Our vision needs to be strong and inspire action every day, which will make us more patient and committed to a long term goals.

Then we need a plan that is simple, even fun and that nourishes us on our path to becoming the best version of ourselves.

Start Today

One of the biggest mistakes we all make is waiting for the “perfect storm”, that perfect moment to start something new… to start a new diet, to stop smoking, to look for a better job, start that project, make an important phone call, study for the exam…

The only perfect moment is RIGHT NOW.

Delaying action whilst waiting for that perfect opportunity is simply procrastination and the more we do it, the more we develop a habit of it that can be very costly.

Procrastination is an issue of self-regulation and, when it comes to health, it can cost us our health because we delay doing the right thing for our health and well-being over a period of time that can even go for decades. The result is a poor health, until it sometimes can be too late.

Procrastinators can change their behavior and it is said that highly structured cognitive behavioral therapy can work really well. If you have an issue with starting things – work on your psychology first.

Books are sometimes a great place to start and so are videos and podcasts to help with awareness and insights into what is stopping you and how to take an inspired action and stop procrastinating.

And remember, the path to the best version of yourself starts today and here are some basics to help you get started…

Hydration, Hydration, Hydration

First thing is to re-visit how much water you drink daily.

Coffees, teas, fizzy and other sugary drinks simply do not count and all represent problem on multitude of levels including cellular damage, dehydration, low energy, weight gain.

Our bodies function best when body is well hydrated with at least 8 glasses of water a day, which is minimum 2 litres for most adults. More water is recommended for those of a bigger frame, especially men and when exercising as body loses water rapidly through sweat.

Water is sometimes the only catalyst that makes things work. As kidneys are responsible for detox, which can not happen without water, and whilst liver is responsible for breaking/ metabolising fat – when water is scarce, liver tends to help the kidneys and breaking the fat becomes secondary; as a result fat loss will be compromised.

If you are to start with one habit, start with water.

Apart from flushing toxins, water helps digest food & circulate blood. Food contains only 20% of fluid intake, so, hydration through healthy beverages is necessary.

A couple of glasses upon waking up with some lemon and then hydrate with one glass on the hour every hour. Set your phone reminders. Use fruit as water infusion. Green tea is fantastic alternative to regular tea and coffee.

Thermojetics Instant Herbal Beverage

Our Thermojetics Herbal Beverage is great for every day hydration as well as part of the weight management plan. I love adding some lemon to it too for added nutritional benefit.

It is a combination of green tea and other botanical ingredients. It has not been treated with alcohol unlike most teas from the high street stores; process of extraction and purification happens with water and charcoal, leaving the finished product with high antioxidant/ phytonutrient value, similar to the plant when it is picked up; it is highly refreshing and catechins compounds cause thermojetics effect that help boost metabolism and energy levels as well as help burn fat.

Alcohol

Alcohol is a bad news for not only fat loss but for our general health. It is a stress to the body that body treats as a poison.

If you would like to take your body composition to the next level, the best advice I could give you is to not only limit, but completely cut out alcohol.

Not many are able to do that and I approach it with care with clients as it is one thing that causes so much resistance. I do believe in taking small steps and limiting alcohol consumption to less to what is a norm to start with, then seeing the results we get and finally decreasing it further.

One can still have results if weekly units are minimal, up to 1-2 glasses of wine, as an example, but anything more will generally hinder the results greatly.

Cutting on calories in food to accommodate alcohol is highly undesirable and results will be limited, if any. Cortisol is a fat storing hormone in our body that alcohol (together with lack of sleep, too much cardio activity and stress) seem to elevate and, as a result, body is in a state of fat storing rather than fat burning.

So, think about your alcohol consumption and how much you really want to improve your health and body composition. Every success requires some form of sacrifice.

Think Protein to avoid Hunger & Slower Metabolism

Most people need to eat more protein. Or reduce protein coming from animal sources.

Protein is a very important factor for your immunity as body needs protein so that the white blood cells can produce antibodies that seek out and destroy invading viruses and bacteria.

It helps stabilise blood sugar levels and, therefore prevents hunger and fat storing. Apart from multitude of other uses, protein is incredibly important for the prevention of muscle loss over lifetime, especially when you are on a weight management plan.

Dieting is very much linked to a muscle wastage when dieting is not done right, which is the major cause of yo-yo syndrome – losing weight, then putting it back on again.

With loss of muscle, your metabolism is slower and so is body’s ability to burn calories. You may find yourself gaining all the weight (and more) back on that you lost, although you may be consuming calories that used to maintain your weight in the past. Your body has less lean muscle to burn them off and therefore, fat gain is inevitable.

High protein foods such as fish, soya products and low-fat dairy products can help to boost your immunity as well as increase your metabolism and support your lean muscle on your weight management plan.

Protein for Vegetarians & Vegans

Whilst I am not vegetarian myself, I support vegetarianism greatly, even veganism. The only issue I find with clients who are vegetarian or vegan is that they still suffer from an inadequate amount of lean muscle due to lack of protein in their diet, sometimes low energy levels and excess body fat that they simply are unable to shift.

All of these issues are sorted with our personalised nutrition plan that targets what they might lack in their diet – protein, plant protein in particular, and micro nutrient intake.

Whilst eating wholefoods can have remarkable good effects on the body, it is a well-known fact that, according to World Health Organisation, UNICEF, UK Ministry of Agriculture and Royal Society of Chemistry – vitamin and mineral depletion of our soil is a global problem with up to 72% depletion of nutrients in fruit and vegetables in Europe alone over the past 60 years.

Supplementation with pharmaceutical graded supplements can make a massive difference in energy levels of anyone, even those who already follow a healthy diet, Vegetarians & Vegans included who would greatly benefit from more macro nutrient balance in their diet.

Protein for Meat Eaters

Whilst protein is an important macro nutrient – meat eaters should take this information with caution.

Meat and dairy can cause high acidity in the body, that leaches nutrients from your muscle and bones and therefore deplete your energy levels and immunity, therefore meat protein must be well-balanced with plant protein.

Whilst getting THAT beach body will require eating personalised amount of protein each day (around 1 gram of protein for each pound of lean muscle – more if exercising and/or building muscle) in the right balance and frequency – you will do more damage on a cellular level if trying to get it all from animal sources.

My goal with clients who are meat eaters is to increase their protein intake whilst balancing plant with animal sources as well as increase their micro nutrient intake.

Generally, once there is a better balance of proteins v carbs & macro nutrients v micro nutrients (Vitamins and Minerals) established, in the right frequency, blood sugar levels are stable, cravings diminish, energy levels increase and we are more likely to have a sustainable fat loss.

Good Carbs v Bad Carbs

We need to stop thinking that carbs are our enemy. Body relies on carbohydrates for fuel, however, they are not all equal. The least processed carbs such as fruit and vegetables are extremely beneficial as they deliver all important nutrients, vitamins & minerals, to the body, together with powerful antioxidants and fibre.

To get that beach body, if that is what you desire, now that we drink more water and include protein in each meal whilst balancing plant with animal protein – we need to combine some Good Carbohydrates with that protein.

That means having a colourful diet of fruits, vegetables, legumes each and every day.

Bad Carbohydrates will go against our efforts to slim down, feel and look healthy and reduce our body fat. Bad carbohydrates are those highly processed and refined foods such as sugars, pastries, cakes, sweets, cereals, white pasta, white bread, sugary drinks, just to name the few.

They do not boost, but rather bust your metabolism, leaving you craving for more, whilst storing excess calories as fat, depleting your energy levels as they are usually void of nutrition.

They may also compromise your digestion and therefore, absorption of nutrients which has an effect not only on energy levels and immunity, but will be a contributing factor to weight gain too.

Fibre Factor

Fibre is a type of carbohydrate and one of THE most important dietary factors for helping support healthy digestion. Fibre is found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains and plays a big part in keeping our bodies healthy.

Adults are recommended minimum 25 grams of fibre each day for healthy digestion, so including high-fibre foods and fibre supplements in your diet can greatly help improve your digestion.

Fibre rich foods are slow sugar releasing and, when combined with protein, they keep your blood sugar levels stable and fuller for longer.

Most of the clients I see struggle to get adequate amount of fibre in their diet. If not sure, MyFitnessPal is a great tool to check if you do. I use it to check my own fibre, protein, Calcium and fat levels occasionally.

I teach clients to use it, if they wish, in addition to my support which we use as part of the education process so they see how getting perfect balance of 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein and 30% fat intake within personalised calorie intake gets them results.

The moment they step out of the equation and there is less protein and more carbohydrates, the results are less visible at their weekly body composition check, or there are no results at all. Penny drops every time as they learn more how food balance and frequency affects us.

Should we count calories?

Calories are not all created equal. 100 calories of vegetables is not the same on a cellular level and on the level how body processes it and it’s affect on the body when compared to 100 calories worth of chocolate Maltesers (which, by the way, are NOT lighter than air).

I use client’s Resting Metabolic Rate to calculate the calorie ceiling they need to be under in order to lose weight, using a simple formula, however, because my personalised weight management solutions are already calorie controlled, my clients do not need to necessarily count calories.

They would just need to follow the prescribed meal plan that includes some great recipes, use their hand to determine portion sizes of macros and, sometimes, write a food diary as a great way to gauge daily food intake and those that do – have a better result.

They also learn how what they consume in any given week relates to changes in their body composition. All part of the education process and raising the awareness on how certain foods effect us. The moment they skip snacks or meals or eat unbalanced meals and snacks – they see decline in muscle, just as one of the examples.

Calories are important or rather learning about them, to help us become more conscientious about our food choices, but, balance in macro nutrients is even more important because not all calories are created equal.

Skipping dinner because we blew our calorie ceiling during the day (or any other meal or snack for whatever reason) is surely not the path to health OR healthy weight loss (or rather, fat loss) and improved body composition.

Get more active

Now that we drink more water, focus on lean and/ or plant protein and good carbohydrates with plenty of fibre, whilst banning all refined sugary carbohydrates – it is time we need to get more active if we want to see some great results! Remember, results come best from 80% nutrition and 20% exercise plan.

Believe it or not, we all have the six-pack muscles, but most people have it all hidden under the layer of abdominal fat. It is time to unwrap it! If you are not used to exercise, start with walking more and then find the local class that you enjoy, perhaps build it to a couple of classes a week.

The science shows that the best form of fitness that help you get into shape in less time is any form of High Intensity Interval Resistance Training. It is a combination of a little bit of cardio with resistance and weight training, all in one single workout. It not only burns a lot of calories during exercise, but it has the highest after-burn with up to 1000 calories burnt in 38 hour window post-exercise.

Try to find your own HIIRT or HIIT class near you or create a program that you can do at home.

Now that we have most of it covered and you are more aware what is needed to get you started on the journey of becoming the best version of yourself, I would like to remind you of the first point I made – start today!

Get the picture of yourself when you were at your best and get emotionally connected to that vision of yourself. Let it be your guide, your North Star.

If not sure how to start or if anything inspired you in this article, do get in touch, drop me a line. I would love to help. Free Evaluation offer stands, it can be slightly daunting starting on your own and you, whilst will need to do it by yourself, you do not need to be alone in the process. As many as 75% have better success when having the right support.

Until then, life is colourful, make your diet colourful too and feel the difference! Afterall, life is much more fun lived in colour!

Herbalife Nutrition Independent Herbalife Member, Bath UK

10 Item “Healthy Diet” Checklist

Back in 2004, a year after my first pregnancy, I took what I can only describe as a leap of faith, by embarking on my very first, and luckily last, weight loss journey. Since then, my focus has shifted on long-term health and becoming a better version of myself over the years. Healthier and happier version of me.

However, I did not understand at a time that weight loss is such a big thing for so many people and that choices are so vast that can truly leave a person lost in confusion as well as despair. It is because I never thought of weight before as I never had issues with it myself before my pregnancy.

These days, I imagine it to be even harder for those looking to improve their health or better manage their weight. The moment you open up your email or social media account – you are overwhelmed with health messages, recipes, different diets being promoted from all kinds of experts and influencers in health industry.

I am one of them, right?

Well, who knew that out of my first and very positive weight loss experience, passion was born and so was my calling. Because one thing I knew was that I felt better, not just for the weight I lost, but for the energy & confidence I gained as well as incredible satisfaction from helping others has given me.

With all that, there is also a constant need to remain a student myself as well as educate others on the latest in nutrition and health as, not only through solutions that we offer, but through the education – we can make this world a better, healthier place. Because knowledge is power. Always.

If you are one of those looking for help and not sure where to start, let me give you a few pointers what to look for, so you can make the right choice, the one that is sustainable long-term, rather than go astray or run around in circles.

If you are no stranger to dieting, I am sure you have, at some point perhaps, started a diet or an exercise regime but never got the shape and result you wanted, felt hungry or deprived, lonely, lacked energy or motivation to keep going?

It could be that what you were trying has not been something that is sustainable or lacked support or real science to make a long-term result. Here is my list of what to look for…

1.Focus should always be on body composition rather than weight loss alone as a measure of your progress. Traditional diets focus on a number on the scales rather than on what that weight loss consists of. Any time you go to the slimming class and step on those scales – you actually have no idea what is going on internally and whether that weight loss consists of fat or muscle.

Why is that important? Well, if you are losing muscle, you are also slowing your metabolism which is the quickest way to hit the plateau as well as gain all weight back, and more. And then you diet again and that is how we end up becoming a Yo-Yo dieters.

Diets like this are also a cause of premature ageing, reduced immunity, low energy, poor performance and declined strength. Only when we lose fat and fat alone, our shape starts changing and we are reducing the health risks that fat is causing.

Keeping or even increasing our muscle mass means that we have greater strength, faster metabolism and we only then run a chance of a sustained weight loss. Losing weight AND keeping it off.

2. Focus on balance of macro nutrients, not calories alone! Because if your diet is not balanced – it is not healthy. Full Stop. You may be eating foods generally considered healthy, but only when they are eaten in the right balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates – you will achieve more than weight loss – healthy body composition!

Commit to getting nutrition wise! Protein, whether you are a vegan, vegetarian or meat-eater, should be around 30% of your daily calorie consumption and so should be healthy fats.

So, salad alone for lunch or “everything low-fat” is not good for your body and diets promoting that are not great long-term! It is a sure way to lose muscle instead of body fat and that is not the right way to lose AND keep the weight off, to say the least!

Vegetarian and vegans in particular may struggle with this and if their diet is unbalanced in this respect – it may be the reason for unexplained weight gain or lack of energy and stamina despite eating “healthy”.

3.Focus on calorie quality to optimise metabolism, not just calorie quantity. Traditional diets allow you to eat within your calorie allowance and you are good as long as you do not go over! We need to move away from this outdated thinking because it is a calorie quality that counts far more. 200 calories worth of broccoli will have a completely different impact on the body than 200 calories of chocolate.

So,” calories in-calories out” approach is outdated and we know better now thanks to the science. Your body requires a certain amount of micro nutrients every single day to provide your body with health and vitality, so, the key is, even if you are eating to lose weight, to still hit your nutrient levels.

Nutrition can not be compromised. Otherwise, you WILL see lower energy levels, loss of muscle, and more. Research shows that only 25% of adults consider nutrition when eating. We obviously need more education on why nutrition always needs to be on our minds when eating, not just for an effective weight management, but for general health and longevity.

4.Think about your hormones. Traditional diets completely ignore the role of hormones. Because they focus on just calories alone. We need to know better, so we can do better. Most people do not realise that how we feel, look and even act is regulated by our hormones and we are not just talking menopause.

Everyone is effected by their hormonal activity every second of every day. They also control our body composition. Low quality food, even if it is low-calorie food, will compromise our hormonal activity and our biochemistry.

In particular we are talking about fat burning hormones that completely get out of balance when we eat unbalanced diet and it stops us from burning fat. Remember, it is fat we want to burn? However, when we eat clean, high quality food in the right balance, together with the right kind of exercise – fat burn is ON, baby! This really is the KEY!

5.Focus on meal frequency! The science now shows us that your body can only function optimally if it gets the right nutrients in the right amounts and – in the right frequency. So, the right plan would be the one that allows you to eat more high-quality foods, more frequently.

This would stabilise your blood sugar and satisfy hunger rather than spike it! So, skipping meals, especially breakfast and snacks is a big no-no for most people! Those are also the opportunities to fit in more nutrition.

6.Focus on exercising smarter, not necessarily exercising more. We are almost pre-conditioned to think that when we are trying to lose weight we need to get to gym more, like every day. Science shows us that doing small amount of exercise, but effective exercise that stimulates your metabolism is a lot smarter way.

So, instead of running for hours on treadmill, you are far better off adopting exercising at intervals so you get a varied heart rate. When you combine that with some resistance training – you will far better support your precious lean muscle and burn body fat. Remember that nutrition is 80% of your efforts, so make your workouts effective and no more than 30 minutes per day, on average, is needed.

And, more important than anything – find exercise that you enjoy doing as you are more likely to continue…

7.Focus on eating that promote stable blood sugar levels. Many diets promote low-calorie meals or snacks, however, whilst they are low-calorie, they could be completely unbalanced and messing up your blood sugar levels (calorie quality and balance, remember). The result is – storing more fat, even if weight loss is registering on the scales (loss of muscle due to lack of protein).

Another way we can cause blood sugar roller coaster is by skipping meals or snacks, usually in hope that we will lose more weight. It almost always backfires as research shows – all it does is causes us to over-eat on the next meal. If you truly want to do it the right way and achieve fat loss, avoid any diets that promote meal skipping. Meal frequency matters.

8.Avoid fads, eating plans that have a “fashion” element attached to them… so, high protein diet, low carb diet, high fat diet that is popular right now, etc, or basically, any diet that excludes whole food groups.

It takes years before we can see true evidence and clinical data on those diets and there is already plenty of evidence on some. But, just the sheer fact that they are excluding whole food groups means they will cause imbalance.

It may work short-term, but the imbalance generally means that people can not stick to it long-term. And if it is not a lifestyle thing, it is not right. Only balanced diet is a healthy diet, remember. We must understand that. That means – balanced amount of protein, fibre, healthy fats and vitamins and minerals and trace elements in diet will ensure our bodies get all they need so they can function properly and have strong immunity, slow down the ageing process and help us manage our weight for a long time after losing it.

9.Start with an end in mind – so, if your goal is to be healthy – focus on your long-term health, not on your looks alone and short-term weight loss. It is about long-term health strategy rather than short-term tactics.

For that to happen, your diet and diet of your family, needs to be … you’ve got it – balanced and nutrient dense. It does not matter how hard you work in the gym if you do not control what goes on your plate.

10. Focus on developing healthy mindset, knowledge and insights so you can achieve the shift within. Education on nutrition is so important so that you can understand and make right food decisions, however, working on developing long-term healthy mindset is far more important as it will help you get out of the dieting prison and ensure you can live your life free of negative body image, limiting self beliefs, stay in control of your emotions and a lot more.

So, instead of just focusing on your physical body, the key is to understand your emotions – where they come from, how to accept and process them; your psychology – beliefs and how to change them if they are limiting you in any way; your language – what you say about yourself, food and world around you and how you say it and if you are making any assumptions… etc. Only healthy mindset helps you stay healthy for life and I am sure that is what everyone hopes for.

I hope this was helpful, although it just gives you some pointers rather than in-depth solutions into each. Each of the points is a subject in their own right, but being aware of each can be a step into the right direction..

I am a Nutritional Therapist & Herbalife Nutrition Health Coach and if you would like help with your own weight management, or have any questions, please do reach out, I would love to help.

If you have been inspired by this article or wish to connect or place a comment, please do so further below and, please do share, because, remember, sharing is caring. 🙂

I believe that health is our greatest wealth, health is happiness, so wishing you to be healthy and happy, always

Sanela

Herbalife Nutrition Healthy Snacking

Snack on this… Try these 20 Healthy Protein Snacks

Healthy snacking is an important part of our diet and lifestyle for many reasons:

  • It prevents us from being too hungry and over-eating for lunch or dinner by helping keep blood sugar levels stable;
  • It is an opportunity to sneak in some veggies or fruit to increase our nutrient intake of vitamins, minerals and fibre;
  • Keeping our lean muscle on throughout life depends, apart from exercising, also on eating enough protein, therefore, balanced, protein snacks are a great way to help us reach our daily protein requirements.

When creating meal plans for clients, snacks play an important part for all the reasons mentioned above.

For a snack to be considered healthy, we need to take into consideration both energy it gives us (we want just enough calories to keep hunger at bay until next main meal) and balance (low in carbs and high in protein, healthy fats and fibre, which all nourishes, but combined, also keeps blood sugar levels stable).

Herbalife24 Protein Balls

Protein Balls as a Healthy Snack

Protein Balls seem to be in fashion at the moment and there are many recipes – some I tried and they are to die for, but not all would constitute as a protein snack, in my humble opinion.

I have seen many with over 200 calories and with not even 5 grams of protein. Just adding nuts does not hugely add to protein but it can add hugely to calories. And this does not work for me.

So, based on some recipes I have seen, here is the one I came up with, but promise to keep trying improving on the protein v calories ratio:

  • 150 gr of almonds (944 calories/ 32 gr protein)
  • 100 gr Herbalife 24 Powder (380 calories/ 51 gr protein)
  • 20 gr coconut oil (172 calories)
  • 30 gr of raw honey, the one that bees actually make, not industrial (92 calories)
  • tablespoon of vanilla extract or (for adults) some rum
  • for garnish: sesame seeds or desiccated coconut and/ or raw cocoa powder

Mix it all in a chopper or blender until you get thick paste and using a bit of coconut oil on your palms – mould into balls and then roll in sesame seeds or desiccated coconut and add a sprinkle of raw cacao powder and, voila, they are done. Put your feet up and enjoy.

I decided to use Herbalife 24 Rebuild Strength, normally used for a recovery shake after a strength training, because it contains array of essential nutrients, but also because I just love its distinctive chocolate flavour, reminding me of Baileys.

For my snacks, I am always looking for around 8-10 grams of protein under 150 calories and this snack just about does it. Above makes 12 balls each 25 grams and they are under 140 calories and 7 grams of protein. Not too shabby at all and these protein balls are amazing and will be loved by everyone in the house.

The only two questions that run through my mind are where to hide them safely so they do not disappear in a flash and how to stop myself from not eating more than one in one go as they are superb and literally each is just one bite? Hmmm… But, mmmmmm….

Hrbalife Nutrition Formula 1 Healthy Breakfast Independent Herbalife Nutrition Member Bath UK

How to Eat the Right Foods at the Right Time

While there is so much advice to Eat Right – it might be easier said than done. Eating right means not only making the right food choices, but also eating the right foods at the right time. To keep your mind and body properly fueled, here are some tips to help you to ‘Eat Right’ at the right time:
Hrbalife Nutrition Formula 1 Healthy Breakfast Independent Herbalife Nutrition Member Bath UK

Watermelon Protein Snack Smoothie

If you read any of my earlier posts, I think you will get the sense of a recurring theme – protein is the king. Meals and snack with the right balance of protein are essential to our well being as protein is a macro nutrient, nutrient we need in large amounts, as it performs major roles of building and maintaining lean muscle and maintaining normal bone, amongst other roles.

There are many sources of protein, like dairy, meat, eggs, fish, pulses, nuts. For the amount of protein we need on a daily basis (1 gram per 1 lbs of lean muscle is the figure I go with, unless we are building leans muscle, in which case the ratio is more 1.5:1) – it is a good advice to try to get at last 50% of it from vegetarian sources. Soya is a complete protein unlike beans and other plant sources. This means it has the same amino acid chain as meat proteins do, but it is a lot easier to digest as it comes from plants, making it a truly super form of protein.

So, here is another example, whilst my boys were happy with a watermelon chunks for their snack, I had to be a little bit smarter for myself and used a few chunks with Protein Drink Mix to make 15 grams of protein under 150 calories Watermelon Protein Snack. Absolutely delicious. Never tried it before using watermelon and I surely will again!

Watermelon is not just full of water, it also helps water be absorbed faster. It is also dense in nutrients. Little goes a long way as it still is a source of sugar, so, whilst healthy, slice is enough, around 1 cup (1 cup is 154 grams, 46 calories and 9.6 grams of sugar). 🙂

Hrbalife Nutrition Formula 1 Healthy Breakfast Independent Herbalife Nutrition Member Bath UK

Soya Bean Dip

We all know how amazing humus is: dip some carrots or cucumber into humus and you have a great mid morning and mid afternoon snack. My only issue, when creating a meal plan for my clients and personalising their protein, most struggle reaching their targets if they start including humus every time as humus, whilst made out of chick peas that does contain protein, it is not exactly a lot of protein, only 2-3 grams if we wish to keep it around 100 calories, even if it is a low-fat humus.

So, I had an idea… instead of chick peas, how about making a similar dip with boiled from frozen green soya beans as 80 grams are around 11 grams of protein and only 100 calories.

Hrbalife Nutrition Formula 1 Healthy Breakfast Independent Herbalife Nutrition Member Bath UK

Courgette and Feta or Goat’s Cheese Curls

Whether we need to lose weight or just mintain healthy metabolism and energy, science proves that eating  five smaller meals in proper balance and frequency is of what makes the difference. It certainly works for my weight management clients. Proper balance is reached where snack has on average 10 grams of protein and is under 150 calories. This is one of those examples. 3-4 courgette strips with a small cube or slither of goats or feta cheese, seasoned and then curled and baked for 10 minutes and served on its own or even 1-2 egg whites for even more low calories protein. This is very tasty and very easy to make. Also, could be a great party finger food. Enjoy! 🙂

Hrbalife Nutrition Formula 1 Healthy Breakfast Independent Herbalife Nutrition Member Bath UK

Crustless Quiche

Crustless Quiche is really just another fancy word for one of my fancy omelette apart from the fact that it is baked in the oven. Mix 2 eggs and two egg whites (per person) with some salt and pepper and pour over some straight-from-the-oven roasted vegetables (such as carrots, sweet potato, squash) in a small tin. Serve with some salad and low-fat yoghurt. And, of course, enjoy! 🙂

Hrbalife Nutrition Formula 1 Healthy Breakfast Independent Herbalife Nutrition Member Bath UK

Chicken & Vegetables: Cooking does not need to be complicated

Cooking does not need to be complicated. What is important for any meal is for it to be balanced. I am not a cook book kind of girl, I have no interest in following long complicated recipes as life is too short and, while it seems that lot of my life revolves around food because I talk about it, help people with it, cook it, take pretty photographs of it (as photography is my second passion) and then talk more about it – I actually do not enjoy it when process is too lengthy. I cook completely the opposite way most people do. Most people might think what they will have or what meal they would like to cook after they see a recipe, get ingredients and then cook. I, instead, buy food making sure I have dairy, meat, meat free options, grains, fruit and vegetables (so, all major food groups)… I open up a fridge and it almost as if talks to me: “Have this!”, “Try this”, “Have that!”. I like my meals to be delicious, I strive for balance and high nutritional content, but also I aim for as little cooking time as possible. In my world – this is a true WIN WIN.

Hrbalife Nutrition Formula 1 Healthy Breakfast Independent Herbalife Nutrition Member Bath UK

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

These are an ideal snack as well as a side to your meal. A couple of Portobello Mushrooms, stuffed with some cottage cheese or spinach with goats cheese, placed under a grill for 10 minutes and, voila – couple of them are under 150 calories snack with over 10 grams of protein and some fibre. Fabulous snack when at home and really being keen on having something different. This is it! Sprinkle with some chilli flakes, sit back and enjoy! Break time! 🙂

Hrbalife Nutrition Formula 1 Healthy Breakfast Independent Herbalife Nutrition Member Bath UK

Quorn Mince Egg Omelette

I have really enjoyed this lunch earlier today and I think you would too.

When I need something quick and delicious for lunch or dinner, if I am not planning to having a Formula 1 smoothie, I straight away turn to eggs. I love them in all kinds of ways, they are nutritious and full of protein.

I have never used quorn before until I recently tried quorn sausages, but I was disappointed with how little protein quorn sausages had compared to some other vegetarian options, however, I could see that Quorn mince has got quite a decent amount so decided to give quorn mince a try, in my seemingly never-ending efforts to find more vegetarian options in my diet.

Hrbalife Nutrition Formula 1 Healthy Breakfast Independent Herbalife Nutrition Member Bath UK

Formula 1 Pudding

Here is one I did last night for this mornings breakfast… Formula 1 pudding… 200ml water, 3 scoops of F1 and 1 scoop of Protein Drink Mix… I added some chia seeds, 1 teaspoon, topped with frozen berries that thawed nicely overnight. Very delicious. Great for those who would love some bite to their morning F1. … how lucky are we to have F1, so much delicious nutrition, it has never been easier to do right by your body.