Journey to the Summer: WEEK 3 (02/04- 08/04)

Welcome back for my third instalment of Journey to the Summer: a diet and fitness series.

This week I found myself being quite repetitive, struggling to think of new meals that I could make, so you may see repeats often. It seems to be that I start off really well in the beginning of the week, eating creative dinners and lunches, but by the end of the week find myself in a rut. It was also a busy week for me, so towards the end I either forgot to take a picture of my meal, or didn't eat at all. I'll do better next week so sorry! On my fourth week I'll work on variety in cooking, trying to stay innovative and dedicated to creative eating. Without further ado, this week's meals:

Sunday (1,332 calories):

Breakfast: Two slices of low calorie Danish bread with sliced avocado and a boiled egg (301 calories)

Lunch: Leftover chicken with vegetables and sweet potato (256 calories)

Dinner: Soy garlic salmon with vegetable brown rice, a poached egg and grilled plantain (660 calories)

• For the salmon: Mix together 2 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 minced clove of garlic, salt, pepper and a small piece of ginger. Coat and cook at 200℃ for 15-20 mins.
• Use leftover vegetable fried rice (see week 2 blog for recipe).  
• Grill a quarter plantain with a little rapeseed oil at 200℃ for 25-30 mins. 
• In a pot of boiling water, salt and a tbsp. of vinegar, create a tornado. Slowly crack your egg into the pot and allow to cook for 10mins or to your preferred doneness. Serve.

Monday (1,178 calories):

Breakfast: 2 egg spinach, onion and tomato omelette (288 calories)
Lunch: Leftover chicken fajita wrap with sweet potatoes (314 calories)
Dinner: Avocado and chicken salad with a peri mayo dressing (576 calories)

• For Chicken: Dice chicken and cook in 1 tbsp. rapeseed oil, seasoning with garlic powder, salt, pepper, smoked paprika and chilli flakes.
• Slice up your lettuce, onion, tomato, avocado and cook defrost sweetcorn.
• Mix 1:1 peri- peri sauce with mayo for the dressing.

Tuesday (1, 275 calories):

 Breakfast: Weetabix with semi- skimmed milk (315 calories)
Lunch: Beef with grilled plantain and brown rice (347 calories)
Snack: 2 SlimFast heavenly choc treat bar (190 calories)
Dinner: Haddock fillet with sweet potato wedges and sweetcorn (423 calories)

• Grill fish according to the instructions on the packaging
• Peel and cut a medium sweet potato into wedges, seasoning with salt, pepper and paprika and grilling at 200℃ for 25mins.
• Steam sweetcorn and serve.

Wednesday (1,173 calories):

Breakfast: 2 slices of Danish white bread with two boiled eggs (262 calories)
Snack: Go ahead raspberry crispy slices (114 calories)
Lunch: Beef with vegetable fried rice and grilled plantain (347 calories)
Dinner: Wholewheat penne pasta with meatballs in a tomato sauce. Not Pictured (450 calories)

• For meatballs: Mix 250g 5% fat minced beef with 1/2 small diced onion, 1 clove of garlic and an egg in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Form  into small meatballs and fry in 2 tbsp. rapeseed oil until cooked through.
• Cook pasta according to instructions on packaging.
• Brown the other half of the chopped onion in a pot with 1 clove of garlic and chilli flakes. Add a can of chopped tomatoes and season with salt, pepper and 1 Maggi cube. Add the meatballs in and allow to simmer. Add chopped fresh herbs (I used coriander). Serve.

Thursday (1,436 calories):

Breakfast: Oats in semi- skimmed milk topped with blueberries (208 calories)
Lunch: Leftover pasta and meatballs. Not pictured (484 calories)
Dinner: Harvester half spit roast chicken with, gravy, green beans and mixed vegetables. (744 calories) - I cannot provide a recipe for this as I was at a restaurant but here are a few tips for cutting down whist eating out:

• Swap the carbs for mixed vegetables (usually free)
• I didn't eat the coleslaw as it was empty calories
• Eat from the salad bar and choose a low fat dressing.
• Stop eating when you are full.

Friday (618 calories):

Breakfast: 2 egg scramble with prawns, onion and tomato (224 calories)

Lunch: Leftover pasta and meatballs . Not pictured (394 calories)

Dinner: Today I was feeling very unwell and so after I came back from work late, I ended up not eating dinner. I of course do not recommend skipping meals however I just couldn't bring myself to eat anything.

Saturday (984 calories):

Breakfast: Weetabix with semi-skimmed milk (300 calories)

Lunch: Baked sweet potato with sweetcorn not pictured (182 calories)

Snack: 1 handful of Plantain chips (92 calories)

Dinner: 6" Italian BMT subway sandwich. Not pictured (410 calories)

This week I still struggled to go to the gym for the same reasons as last week (lack of gym membership in London), however I did try to do some exercises at home, and now have a at home workout plan which was tweaked for me. I will definitely do these 4-5 times this week to slightly make up for my lack of exercise for the last couple of weeks. I'm still eating well though and can see some differences in my stomach area mainly. I don't feel out of breath doing small tasks and feel more energised. On Saturday I was out for my friends birthday (shout out Kim for a great night) and in preparation to leave my house, completely forgot to eat. So that explains the Subway which I tried to keep healthier with no cheese and plenty of salad. In all the excitement I didn't even end up finishing it, having to throw away about 1/4 of it (cries in wasted food). Next week I'll be at my halfway point in this journey and you'll be able to see my progress in weight loss- statistics and all!

Weeks concluding thoughts: Less cravings

This week, I've had less cravings for bad foods and have come to begin to accept this lifestyle I've chosen. I would still LOVE a good donut but I'm trying to hold off for as long as possible before I eat something I would consider a "cheat meal". Eating at Harvester this week was a real challenge as if you know me well you know that it's one of my most favourite places to eat. They had even changed their menu when I went on Thursday with new delicious meals. But I stayed strong as I know it will pay off. More life. More weight loss.

Be sure to follow me on Snapchat: Chrissola, and Twitter/Instagram: Chrissola_ for live cooking and more information on #CCC. Feel free to send me pictures of the meals if and when you choose to make them! Have a blessed day and a great week ahead!