Recipe One - Chunky Vegetable Soup

The first recipe I've used from the BBD is the chunky vegetable soup and it's so easy to make and yummy to eat that I thought I'd share it with you all!

So, here goes!

Ingredients:

• 1 litre of cold water.
• 1 vegetable stock cube.
• 400g can of chopped tomatoes.
• 2 teaspoons of mixed herbs.
• 1 teaspoon of chilli in a tube or half a fresh chopped chilli.
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped.
• 1 tablespoon of tomato puree.
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped.
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped.
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped.
• 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and chopped.
• 2 medium courgettes, diced.
• 3 sticks of celery, chopped.

Method:

1. Pour the water into a large saucepan and bring to a simmer.
2. Crumble over the stock cube and stir until dissolved.
3. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the courgettes, and simmer
4. Gently simmer the vegetables for five minutes then add the courgettes and cook for a further 8-10 minutes until all the vegetables are soft.
5. Season with lots of black pepper and serve with a slice of rye bread.

Yum!

Stay happy,

WG x

Thou Shall Not Eat...Wheat!

Rule one of the BBD (Body Blitz Diet) is No Wheat.

Wheat is often what causes people to bloat - I know it does that to me! - and it is present in many foods that people binge on.

Foods to avoid when following this rule are:

• Batter
• Biscuits (boo!)
• Bread (apart from rye bread)
• Breaded fish or scampi
• Buns
• Cakes
• Chicken nuggets
• Couscous
• Cookies
• Crackers
• Croissants
• Crumpets (my personal favourite, it's going to be hard to stay away!)
• Egg noodles
• Garlic bread
• Melba toast
• Muffins
• Packet sauce mixes
• Pasta
• Pastry
• Pies
• Pizza (noooooooooo!)
• Rolls
• Sausages
• Stuffing mixture
• Some breakfast cereals
• Wheat flour
• Yorkshire puddings

Gluten-free products are also out as they are easy to binge on and they can still be high in fat and sugar. The best way to lose weight effectively is just to avoid these foods altogether. After all, it's only for two weeks so it should be do-able, right?

So, what can you eat?

To fill the gap left by bread, pasta etc, eat foods made with oats, maize (sweetcorn), pulses, rye and rice.

Foods you can eat whilst following this rule are:

• Barley couscous
• Borlotti beans
• Butter beans
• Chickpeas
• Corn cakes
• Kidney beans
• Lentils
• Oatmeal
• Porridge oats
• Rice cakes (surprisingly, these aren't that bad!)
• Rice noodles
• Rice - any kind
• Rye bread
• Rye crispbread

So, this is the first rule of the BBD, I'll post about the other four over the coming days.

Stay happy,

WG x

*Cat of the Week - Georgia*

This is Georgia, she's 10, a semi long hair and isn't she lovely?!

Female ginger cats are really rare, generally the ginger gene only comes out in males - just as the tortie gene generally only comes out in females - so Georgia is extra special!

She arrived at the Bath Cats and Dog's Home on the 1st of June this year and, because she is still a new arrival, if you want to see her then you'll need to ask at reception.

Click here to find out more!

Stay happy,

WG x

P.S. Click here to see all the amazing animals that the home have managed to find owners for in the last two weeks! X

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new diet for me...

...and I'm feeling goooooooooood!

Soooo, I have a *bit* of a confession to make. After I got down to my goal weight I fell ENTIRELY off the wagon and have consequently put back on half a stone.

Fail.

I had been feeling a bit down and irritated with myself and then last week I shook it all off and decided to do something about it. I mean, I've lost weight before so I can do it again, right?

This time around I've decided to go for a more structured way of doing it, that way I know it works and I like having rules and boundaries to work within. That's just the way I roll!

So, which plan to pick?

I considered options like Weight Watchers or Slimming World but the thought of having to sit around with loads of other people and discuss my shortcomings just made me cringe. Then I turned to the internet, looking up diet books and plans and trying to find one that wouldn't drive me insane.

On Amazon I came across the Anna Richardson Body Blitz Diet which promises to help you lose up to 7lbs in just two weeks. Perfect! I'm going on holiday this summer and would really like to not be the whale on the beach!

All the reviews were positive and I like Richardson already, she came across as frank and likeable on both the Sex Education Show and her stints on Supersize vs. Superskinny.

So I ordered the book and was surprised when it arrived the next day. Settling down to read it (with a packet of biscuits for company) I loved how direct and true it was in style and the diet itself seems do-able with just five simple rules to follow for 14 days:

1. No Wheat.
2. No Dairy.
3. No Sugar.
4. No Carbs (after 6pm).
5. No Alcohol.

I think I can handle this for two weeks and have already taken my mugshot, as recommended by Richardson so that I can compare it when my fourteen days are up.

I'm starting tomorrow and already have my meal plan for the week and a simple exercise plan to work alongside it.

I'll update this blog every couple of days (promise!) to let you all know if it's any good and fingers crossed I'll shift some flab!

Stay happy,

WG x

P.S. How good does Richardson look on the cover?!

*Cat of the Week - Stripes*

I love an unusual cat and Stripes is certainly that!

Pure white with those beautiful green eyes, she's eye catching and was very friendly when I went up to the cat home last week. I almost took her home but Little Cat would never forgive me!

Not a lot is known about Stripes at the moment (apart from the fact that she needs a better and more appropriate name!) but she arrived at the home on the 17th of May and is thought to be around two years old.

For more information on this lovely little creature, click here.

Stay happy,

WG x

*Cat of the Week - Blue*

Cat of the week this week is one of the most unusual cats that I've come across in a really long time.

Blue is a six year old Siamese who arrived at Bath Cats and Dogs Home on the 19th of March this year. He was brought in through no fault of his own and is a friendly, vocal boy who loves fuss and attention.

Highly intelligent, he gets bored easily and needs a home with plenty going on and a scratching post to avoid too much carpet damage!

He doesn't get on with dogs and any children would need to be over eight years old.

I went down to the home last Sunday with a friend and we met Blue who is far more beautiful in person than in his pictures. He was very friendly and came up to the glass to say hello and play with his toys.

If you're interested in adopting Blue or know someone who might, click here to find out more about him.

Stay happy,

WG x

Just Dance!

There is a new love in my life and it's called Zumba!

With two weeks between jobs and a holiday in the sun coming up, I decided it was time to step up my fitness regime. The Wii Active is still a big part of that but I needed something new to add to the mix. With this in mind I headed to my local gym and grabbed a list of their exercise classes.

I have a very short attention span and so the gym on it's own will never work for me. I need a variety of classes with different styles, tempos and levels of difficulty to keep me interested and keep me going back week after week.

I tried salsacise, kick boxing, thai chi and yoga and enjoyed them all in their own ways - particularly the salsacise. Thai chi was something that I didn't really expect to engage with but I found it really calming and a great way to get my thoughts together.

The biggest success of the week however was the Zumba class. I had NO idea what it was or what it would involve but it was at a time I could make and it was something new so I went for it!

Zumba is a fusion of all dance styles all slammed together and topped with LOADS of attitude. We did some salsa, some hip hop, some pop, some meringue, some street dance and even some belly dancing! It was hard work but I didn't even notice how hot and sweaty (mmm, tasty!) I was until the end of the class.

It was brilliant fun and I'd highly recommend to everyone to find a class near them, I'll be going back every week!

Stay happy,

WG x

P.S. Check out this video for an idea of what a class is like!