Breakfast on the Run

Breakfast is both my most loved and most hated meal. I have never liked eating first thing so during the week I really struggle, but a lazy indulgent weekend brunch is just the best. I don't think I will ever be able to get up early enough to eat (and feel like eating) before I leave the house during the week so I tend to eat breakfast at work at about 9 or 9.30.

That means I need to be taking something either prepared the night before or pretty instant to throw together and these three are my staples at the moment and each recipe serves one.

If you don't like eating first thing then a shake might be the perfect options for you as it often is for me. There are millions of breakfast smoothie type recipes out there but for the absolute quickest thing mine is as follows:

Basic Breakfast Shake

2 scoops Arbonne Protein Shake Mix in Vanilla or Chocolate
1 tsp instant espresso powder or a shot of Espresso
300ml cold water or nut milk

Put all ingredients in a shaker cup (I generally put dry ingredients first then fill up with water), blend and drink. Depending on which flavour shake mix you use it'll be a mocha or latte flavour - latte is my favourite. I prefer just blending with water but for a richer shake try any kind of milk according to what you prefer.

The shake in the picture is another variation: 

2 scoops Arbonne Vanilla Protein Shake Mix
300ml cold water or nut milk
1 tbsp almond butter
1 frozen sliced banana

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

This is a super yummy breakfast shake if you have a blender to have (I keep a hand blender and a plastic jug in the kitchen at work). As soon as I have any over-ripe bananas I slice up and freeze in a bag so they're ready to add to a smoothie - think I got this tip from Jamie Oliver and it's really handy.

[Disclaimer: I'm an Arbonne Independent Consultant so of course use this nutrition range and thoroughly recommend it as a healthy and tasty choice - you could use any protein mix but steer clear of cheap whey].

If you prefer to chew your calories then just a couple of minutes the night before is all you need for  a bircher muesli type breakfast.

Lazy Bircher Muesli 

250ml fruit & vegetable juice (I used Innocent Orange & Carrot here but Tropicana and V8 also do some good ones)
4 tbsp oats
handful chopped fresh fruit

1. Stir together the oats and juice, then mash in a bit of the fruit. Leave to stand overnight
2. Either chop the rest of the fruit and box up now or just take with you in the morning.
3. When ready to eat, stir the muesli and add the rest of the fruit.

Traditional Bircher Muesli

250ml natural yoghurt (I used soya here but the important thing is nothing with ant added sugar)
2 heaped tbsp oats
1 large apple, grated
honey, nuts, seeds to serve

1. Stir together the yoghurt, apple and oats then leave to stand overnight.
2. When ready to eat stir again and add fresh fruit, honey, seeds, nuts or whatever you want to jazz it up.

I do notice my energy levels being more consistent on the days where I eat breakfast at a sensible time and it definitely affects what I eat later in the day. These are my absolute fastest no-hassle options but I'm planning to expand my repertoire!

To try the Arbonne Protein Shake Mix visit my online shop http://emilywright.arbonne.com

Keep Calm and Get Organised

It's time to get organised. Every single healthy eating cook, dietician or nutritionist talks about organisation as the key to staying on track and it's not hard to see why. For me, going out to buy lunch or only thinking about dinner on my way home leads to lazy choices and giving in to cravings.

I've found these fantastic planners on a great blog called Life with Munchers and she has all sorts of useful tools for organising your life (particularly if you have a family). I've downloaded her 'Weekly Meal Planner' and 'Favourite Recipe' templates and spent quite a long time going through books collating lists of favourite recipes that will support my new way of eating. 

This is exactly the sort of OCD activity that I love so it naturally gave me a huge amount of satisfaction to plan a whole week and write up what I would be eating! It's useful to look at where I'll be each day and work out what fits best alongside other commitments.

I'm incredibly tired today and very glad last night's chilli is ready for my lunch and keeping me away from the chocolate-y call of the High Road. It's generally my pattern that I will always cook a minimum of two servings so generally my dinner one night will also be my lunch the next day.

Tonight is Ella's Easy Quinoa with Green Veggies. As yet I have been unable to cook quinoa well and today was no exception. The amount of water specified in the recipe is CRAZY and it's very soggy and overcooked by the time it has been absorbed. Colleague K is the queen of quinoa and advises adding water gradually like a risotto so I'm going to try that next time - in the recipe below I've gone with the advice on the packaging but you may have your own technique.

However, as a quick supper this isn't bad. I steered clear of the tahini which I'm not very keen on and made a few other tweaks but this would be a good way to use up whatever veg you had left in the fridge and you could add meat or fish as well. I'm not great with quantities (I always seem to produce loads) but again I think this feeds 2-3 depending on how much veg you add - I put a lot more than the recipe suggested.

120g quinoa

360ml vegetable stock

1 bunch spring onions, finely sliced

2 courgettes, sliced into thin half moons

1 head of broccoli, cut into florets then stalk finely sliced

1 bunch asparagus cut into thirds (or short lengths)

2 tbsp tamari

pinch dried chilli flakes

1. Prepare the stock, add the quinoa and cook according to packet instructions (I think stock gives more flavour than water, just like with couscous).

2. Chop vegetables and stir-fry in some garlic oil over a fairly high heat.

3. Add the chilli and tamari, cook for another couple of minutes.

4. Stire in the cooked quinoa and serve.

This reheated well in the microwave and kept well in the fridge. I was glad I'd made something nourishing as tiredness tends to be my number one weakness when it comes to comfort eating. I think even if you thought there was no food in the house you could make a version of this and feel that you'd made yourself something nice. If I have more energy next time I'll probably add ginger and some other things to make it a more asian-style, but you could equally add herbs and maybe some sun-dried tomatoes for a more mediterranean vibe.

Deliciously Emily?

Day one of my +Deliciously Ella experiment started strong with Creamy Coconut Porridge. I've been ill with a really bad cold for what feels like weeks and this was just what I needed. I've made similar recipes before but this has a lot less coconut milk so it's flavoursome without being too rich. It also has banana cooked into the oats which I loved - my sister found it too sweet but she's not a big banana fan.

As usual I haven't been organised enough to actually prepare for the start of this project so lunch is some very late (and shop bought) houmous and carrot on the way to pick up my friends' kids from school, but I do notice how full I've stayed from the porridge. I'm giving the boys a snack later on and treat myself to one of what are clearly grown-up snacks - it's the most delicious thing ever and has officially ousted the nakd bar from my top spot.

 If you see the Aduna Baobab bar I highly recommend it! Much sharper than other dried fruit bars - I've only been able to find it in As Nature Intended so far but I'm sure there are other stockists.

One of my main struggles during the week can be motivating myself to cook (when it's only for me) when I'm tired and just want to collapse on the sofa. I resist that temptation and make the Black and Kidney Bean Chilli - with considerable scepticism that anything put together in ten minutes will taste of much. I stand corrected and it's lovely: I've never thought of putting jalapenos in a chilli before but I love it.

Tori (my sister) also cooks it at her place that evening and is less enamoured but I think it must come down to the different proportions etc we use - I certainly just used the recipe as a basis then added what I thought it needed. This is my recipe based on Ella's original.


1 onion, finely chopped
1 tin kidney beans
1 tin black-eyed beans
1 large carrot, grated
300ml passata
1tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp sliced jalapenos, finely chopped
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
1/4 tsp hot smoked paprika
125g pack brown rice
1 avocado
rocket or other salad, to serve

1. Put your rice on to cook - I always use brown which does take quite a while.
2. Heat some olive oil in a pan and cook the onion for a few minutes until soft.
3. Add the beans, chillies, carrot, passata and tomato paste and stir it all together.
4. Cook for ten minutes or so to let the flavours come together then adjust according to taste. I like spicy food so for many people this may be far too much chilli. Be sparing till you get the right balance for you!
5. Mash your avocado with some lime juice.
6. Serve it all up and enjoy!

I will definitely be using this recipe again - I'm a big fan of extra vegetables added in so next time I'm going to add a grated courgette as well. I love chilli and this is a great weeknight supper that can be on the table in less than 30 minutes. I also can't say how excited I was at work the following day knowing this was waiting in the fridge for my lunch.

Clean and Green

Most people who know me will also know that I have spent much of the last 15 years struggling with my weight, having issues with how I look, and pretty much pursuing every diet under the sun. Since I started my Arbonne business 18 months ago I've become a lot more interested in a wholefood diet but last week was finally prompted to start a new experiment with a focus on something other than weight.

For probably the last six months I've felt permanently exhausted and under the weather, and it's left me feeling that I'm struggling to keep up with my life. Numerous blood tests later my GP has been unable to suggest anything useful so I read the introduction of +Deliciously Ella with a sense of growing excitement. If she can cure (or manage) a quite serious illness with diet then surely I can achieve similar results?

So for the last week I've eaten almost exclusively from her recipes and so far am feeling pretty awesome! I make no suggestion that I could (or want to) permanently stick to a vegan diet or that I will never order a takeaway again, but so far I truly do feel better for keeping it clean and green. The picture below which I saw on Facebook a few days ago has given me pause for thought. What do I want to be made of?

Blog Beginnings

A blog about food and cooking has been in my mind for several years now but last week I finally decided it was the time to start. It's a blog of my food, my cooking and my eating with no specific theme or purpose. So for all the friends who have been asking for recipes when I post a photo - this is for you.

I think this quote from Cesar Chavez sums up my feelings:

                                       "If you really want to make a friend, go to someone's
                                       house and eat with him...the people who give you
                                       their food give you their heart".

For me food is such an expression of love that it took me quite a while to feel ready to cook for my boyfriend (much to his confusion). So know that if I have cooked for you - it has been done with heart and soul.