Alpro Challenge Breakfast Ideas

Ask most people what they have for breakfast and they tell you that it is limited to maybe a bit of cereal or porridge. They may stretch out to a cooked breakfast if they can be bothered to make it at the weekend (with a hangover). But it’s not until you actually start thinking about breakfast ideas that you realise there’s an abundance of ways to make the first meal of the day exciting. And the best bit? You don’t have to wake up extra early to make it either as I found out during my Alpro breakfast challenge.

Some Of Those Brekkie Ideas

On The go Protein Bars

In fact one of the first breakfast idea I come up with using Alpro milk, I made the night before. My ‘On the go Protein Bars’. I simply mixed together six scoops of protein powder, (I used Smart Tec Nutrition Vanilla flavoured protein), with six scoops of oats, six teaspoons of cashew butter and a quarter cup of Alpro Almond milk. I flattened the mixture out on a tray and popped it into the fridge to set. In the morning the bars were good to go after I divided them into six pieces.

Spinach, oats and Alpro milk smoothie

Mix together 200ml of Alpro Hazelnut milk together with 25g of oats a handful or two of spinach with some crushed ice and blend.

Almond Milk Cappuccino

In a pan heat up the almond milk and stir in a spoonful of coffee.add some water if you want to think out the milk and allow the coffee to dissolve. Add a spoonful of honey to taste. Pour into a cup, sprinkle with some cinnamon. Sit back, relax and enjoy.

Alpro Yoghurt with Mixed Nuts and Dried fruit

Pour some Alpro yoghurt into a bowl, sprinkle on some dried fruits and nuts, stir in a drizzle of agave syrup. Now grab a spoon and tuck in.

So as you can see these are just some ideas I came up with that I thought I’d share with you, but there are many more, like oat pancakes, scrambled eggs with milk, muesli and yoghurt. Breakfast should never be boring. It’s the first meal of the day so should be seen as good fuel to get you going for the rest of the day. Enjoy your next breakfast 🙂

Alpro Breakfast Challenge

We all know breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day, if not the most important of them all. Yet we still don’t take time out to sit down and eat it. Most people site not feeling hungry or not having the time. That’s because a lot of people eat a heavy dinner and the last thing they want to do is sit down to eat breakfast like a king. Others just can’t find something tasty to eat. And so when I was approached by #AlproAM to take on the seven day breakfast challenge I decided to make it a mission not just to have breakfast like I do but actually create tasty, healthy breakfasts that I looked forward to eating.

Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t particularly like cooking. There’s a reason why I didn’t win Come Dine With Me #CDWM! So I want to spend as little time as I can in the kitchen. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t make quick easy food that is healthy. So I have even surprised myself by digging out recipe ideas to make sure that my #AlproAM challenge is as interesting and tasty as possible.

To give you an idea, I’ve been learning how to make flapjacks, smoothies, lattes, and other creative breakfasts using Alpro Almond milk. It’s amazing what you can come up with when you put your

mind to it. So watch out for my next blog post which will have amazing pictures of my creations that will have you thinking of making your very own tasty treats quicker than you can say ‘Good Morning’ even at the crack of dawn!

How Festival Goers can Burn Calories!

Traditionally festivals are depicted as a three day calorie fest of fast food and weight gaining beer and cider.  But having good fun does not have to spell doom and gloom. Who says you can’t go to a festival and still burn calories?

Well you can because the average festival goer will spend eight hours dancing each day – that’s a whopping 696,000 hours of dancing every day at the Reading Festival and 600,000 combined hours at Leeds.

According to Fitness First, the average woman will burn 2,400 calories per day and a man 3,086 in dancing alone. That’s a total of 7,200 and 9,258  calories over the festival weekend.  

But to make your festival experience even more fit and healthy  you can still do other things to keep your waistline trim. 

Make sure you stay hydrated – keep a bottle of water with you to so sure you’re taking sips in between all that beer and cider swigging.

Vitamins – you still need to top up your vitamins and even more so when you are drinking. There are plenty of juice bars and smoothie bars at festivals to keep topping them up.

Be food wides – sure it’s good to have a burger and chips but you can also opt for a jacket potato and beans or a chicken salad to check you are still eating your five-a-day. Also keeping snacks like nuts and dried fruit will help with the post-beer cravings.

So there you are, small simple little tricks to keep you in tip top shape while busting some moves to your favourite bands! Happy festival! 

 

 

Zest Challenge 2013 With Alpro – We Did It!

So typical – the night before my Zest Challenge with Alpro, the ground was saturated due to torrential downpours the night before. It couldn’t have been muddier on the day even if it tried. I had just flown back from the French Alps on a week long trail running trip and could’ve easily turned my alarm off when it beeped on Saturday morning at 6am. But no, I had entered a challenge and dragged myself out of bed and onto the trail. And the hundreds of us women who took on the Zest Challenge with Alpro did it!

We survived the optional 5 or 10k run, weaving through nets, jumping over hay bales, going down a water slide and whatever else was thrown in our path. It wasn’t about time, it wasn’t about being the best, but it was about being part of a team and taking part. Challenges like this bring people (in this case women) together. Above all it was about having fun. Women from all over the country descended Hambledon Estate in Henley, Berkshire, to do exactly that and get fit at the same time. I managed to speak to several women (catching through breaths) that day at various points along the countryside trail and it was lovely to see everyone enjoying themselves. Yes the trail was a challenge but we all kept encouraging each other and pushing  each other to keep on moving. Here’s a clip from the day:

http://view.vzaar.com/1275573/player

So if your workouts have gone stale and you’re looking for new ways to kick start a new regime, why not sign yourself up to a challenge like Zest Alpro 2013? It’s the best motivator to get out on the road or the gym when the pub is calling on a fine summers evening. Go get em tigers 🙂

Zest Challenge 2013 with Alpro

Yes it’s that moment again that I’ve been roped into entering yet another competition. The pursuit of optimum health is never ending clearly. But that is the beauty of it – keeping fit should never turn stale. Always put yourself out there for new challenges so that you never get bored.

So I’m now training for the Zest Challenge 2013 with Alpro following their success from last year’s event. And because it was so successful they’ve decided to supersize the challenge by adding a 5k run to the usual 10k distance and having two locations instead of one so more people can join. The first is at the Hambledon Estate near Henley-on-Thames in Berkshire on June 15^th and the second a week later on the 22^nd at Catton Hall, Derbyshire.

But unlike my normal straightforward runs, this women-only event has a twist. Rather than just running your way around a course, we’ll be scrambling over hay bales, under nets and through tyres, negotiating balance beams and flying down a giant water slide. Who says fitness is boring eh?

So I’m a little late starting my training (I’ve been so absorbed in lifting heavy weight and body building!) but it’s never late to start. It’s all about making a plan and focusing on the goal and sticking to it. The human body never ceases to amaze me and I know you can do whatever you put your mind to.

Well the weather is not bad right now in Reading, Berkshire so now is a good a time as any to go and get started. But I expect it to get windy, wet, muddy at some point over the next few weeks and burn some serious energy all in the name of fun!

Fitlass Is Getting Bigger!

First of all I would like to apologise in the long delay between this post and my last post.

And contrary to what the title suggests, I have also not put on weight and neglected this blog 🙂

The real reason for my absence is that I have been developing my new website http://www.fitlass.co.uk thanks to the success I have had on here.

The new website is now fully launched and has lots more advice, tips, news, articles, travel and reviews on it.

I am pleased to say that this blog post will continue with general views and comments from myself as well as from you readers.

So thank-you for all your continued support and I look forward to seeing you both over here and my new website in the future.

And here’s to Feel Good Friday! 🙂

 

 

Deskfest Challenge Day 5

So it’s day 5 of the Deskfest challenge and it’s Friday! It wouldn’t feel right not to whip out the almighty wine glass 🙂
But before we get on to the hard stuff, I decided it would be appropriate to use the glass for a healthy breakfast.
Yoghurt is an excellent source of protein, vitamin D and calcium.
In the spirit of Friday, dig into this scrumptious Alpro Vanilla Knickerbocker Breakfast!

Ingredients
Frozen raspberries (defrosted)
2 tablespoons of granola
Alpro Vanilla pouring yoghurt
1/2 a chopped apple
Crushed almonds

Directions
In a large wine glass, layer one tablespoon each of the raspberries, granola, and then pouring yoghurt and repeat the layering process.
Finish with. Good dollop of the raspberries and sprinkle on the chopped almonds.

Happy Healthy Friday! 🙂

Deskfest Challenge Day 4

This morning I really didn’t have time to faff around my kitchen but that never has to mean compromising breakfast.
So I made my breakfast nice and easy to take with me on the go.
It’s very healthy (clearly, I am Fitlass after all 🙂 ), filling, and won’t have you reaching for the biscuit tin mid morning.
So here is my quick and easy Cold Almond Nutty Supreme Yoghurt.

Ingredients
1/2 cup Alpro pouring yoghurt
2 tbsp Almond Milk
1 tsp Almond extract
1 tbsp chopped almonds
Maple syrup or honey to taste

Directions
Combine together the milk, yoghurt and almond extract until blended.
Add the chopped almonds and drizzle with the maple/honey syrup.

And as you can see, I just put it in my Tupperware box to take with me on the go. Don’t forget a spoon!

Deskfest Challenge Day 3

There are days when you just want to eat stodgy food especially when the weather is so cold and miserable.
But stodgy does not have to mean unhealthy.
Here’s my great winter warmer breakfast which will keep you nice and toasty both inside and out!

Easy Cook Oat Cookie With Almond Milk

Ingredients

1/3 cup porridge oats
1/3 cup unsweetened Alpro almond milk
1 tsp dark cocoa
1 tsp vanilla essence
Dash of salt
1 tsp natural peanut butter

Stir together the porridge, milk, and cocoa powder until the mixture is all blended well.
Add the vanilla essence and salt
Microwave on high for 3 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly before stirring in the peanut butter.

I would love to write more but I need to tuck into this. Go on, have a go, it takes minutes to make!

Day 2 Deskfest Challenge

So it’s day two of my Deskfest challenge and I just can’t believe how many amazing possibilities there are to make breakfast really scrumptious and delicious within minutes.
Today I have opted to make a Hazlenut Creme Latte because it’s so cold outside and I need warming up with something other than a builders tea. And voila, here’s the lovely concoction I’ve just made and I can’t wait to drink it to warm me through to the core.

So here’s how to make it.

1/2 cup of strong fresh coffee
1 cup steamed Hazlenut Apro soya milk
Sugar or sweetener to taste (optional)
100% dark cocoa powder

Combine all the ingredients in a large mug and sprinkle the dark cocoa powder on top.
Wrap your hands around the mug and ease it into the mouth and enjoy:-)

Honestly so much better than rocking up to your nearest coffee house and paying an arm and a leg for it!