Raw Cookie Dough Bars | Recipe

I have been desperate to share this recipe that I came across in a Vegan Food magazine I picked up from shopping. These bars are delicious they grabbed my attention as soon as I saw cookie dough and the fact that they are made from clean, raw, natural ingredients makes them a winner. These bars are seriously moreish so perhaps limit them to a treat and not a snack as their fat content is high due to all the nuts and coconut oil, but its all of the good kind of fat.

Ingredients:

250g Nuts (Brazil or Cashews work well)

3 tbps Maple syrup

2 tbps Coconut oil (melted)

1 tsp Vanilla extract

50g Dark Chocolate

60g Redcurrants ( I used frozen raspberries)

1 Line a 500g (1lb) loaf tin with greaseproof paper

2. Put the nuts into a food processor or Blender (I used Nutri Ninja) until they resemble coarse breadcrumbs. Add the maple syrup, melted coconut oil and vanilla and mix all ingredients together.

3. Transfer the mixture into the loaf tin, put the frozen raspberries into the food processor and blitz quickly until they are fine crumbs. Sprinkle the raspberries over the mixture and then melt the chocolate and spread this evenly over the mixture too.

4. Freeze for 15-20 minutes or until set, then remove from the loaf tin,cut into bars and enjoy! 

Store in the freezer.

Tag me in your pictures if you have a go at making these.

Emma x

Top Tips | For staying Motivated

I am going to give you some of my top tips to staying motivated on your Health and Fitness journey, whether you are just starting out or well into it already. Now and then you may become bored, frustrated if results aren't happening as quickly as you would like, not enjoying exercise or have simply lost your mojo, these factors can really affect your motivation.

TIP 1

Set Goals.

This is key. Be specific! You have to have something to work towards whether that be a goal you want to reach in 2 weeks, 2 months or 2 years. Write it down and keep looking over it, to keep it at the front of your mind. Each time you feel like skipping your workout or reaching into the biscuit tin think about those goals and hopefully they will make you reconsider your actions.

TIP 2

Change things up!

We are creatures of habit so you may find yourself heading to the same machine, picking up the same dumbbells or doing the same class week in week out. If you are not challenging yourself and keeping things fresh your progress can slow down leaving you frustrated with lack of results. The internet is your best friend, you will find hundreds of workouts that you can try at home or in the gym or try out a new class you may find you really enjoy it.

TIP 3

Join Forces.

Grab a friend, partner or even your neighbour to workout with and make it a date. You will help to motivate each other and by having something down in the diary you will be less likely to cancel letting the other person down.

TIP 4

Perfect Playlist.

For me a good music playlist for my workouts is essential! You want music that is really going to get you hyped and help push you through those last few burpees. You don't want to have to keep stopping and starting to skip past those ballads, so make a playlist.

I hope these simple tips will help you on your journey to becoming a happier, healthier, better version of yourself. If you have any questions or would like advice please send me a message via Instagram (emma_f1tness) or Facebook I would be happy to help.

Emma x

Lululemon | Product Review

If you didn't know already I am a gym wear junkie. I wear workout clothes pretty much everyday, whether that be taking my little darlings to school, doing the food shop, running errands or working out you will mostly find me in a comfy pair of Nikes. I am quite picky when it comes to gym wear and it takes a lot for a brand to win me over. Being a petite 5'1 I struggle to find gym tights that are the correct length most are way too long and I either end up rolling them up or taking to them with a pair of scissors!
I have yet been able to find a pair thats meets all of my criteria- a good tight fit, supportive in the right places, perfect length (just sitting above my ankle) but most importantly, they should make me feel great! Surely that is not much to ask?

I came across lululemon whilst watching Nikki Blacketter's youtube channel, I noticed she wears them a lot and she always looks great throughout her workout and being petite like myself they looked like a good fit.

The nearest store to me is in London which is a good few hours away which is a long way to travel to visit one shop! I was sceptical about purchasing them as I wanted to try them on first and get some advice on their styles before I made a purchase.

On a recent trip to Dubai the weather wasn't great so I headed to the Mall of the Emirates where to my excitement I found a lululemon store, the staff were fantastic and explained the different styles and fit and help me select some to try.

The first pair I tried are the 'Wunder Under Crop ||| " (below images) these are a 'Hugged' fit. They are actually a crop, but on the mannequin they looked pretty long so thought that could work in my favour. I was delighted to find that they were a perfect length for me, just sitting above my ankles so I could wear them as full length tight. They are low/medium rise and material is super soft, I fell in love straight away!
The sizing is American so I went for a US4/UK8 in these as they had a good amount of stretch, they feel fabulous on and they really do hug your body.
I wore these for an entire day and to take my Kettlebell class in the evening and they stayed in place, I didn't need to keep hoisting them up and mostly in importantly they didn't sag or becomes loose the whole time. Super Impressed!

 The second pair I chose were the "Zone In Crop" (see images below), again another pair of crops but fit me perfectly above the ankle just like full length. These are from the 'Held In' range and boy do they hold you in! They have compression panels in all of the right places and are a high rise coming right above your tummy button really pulling you in, there is also no waist band which is a bonus because these can often dig in especially with compression tights and they claim to give you a little bum lift. I went for the next size up with these so a US6/UK10 as there wasn't as much give. I put them to the test during my workout, they stayed super snug but required a little pulling up at the top of my tights/ crotch area, there is a little crotch panel which is sewn weirdly so this could be why. But overall this didn't bother me too much and I love the tights and how seamless they are.

Lululemon is a little more pricey than other gym/active wear brands but, I do believe in investing in a really good quality pair of tights that will stand the test of time, surviving all of your intensive workouts and constantly being put through the wash.

Overall, I am thrilled with my purchases from lululemon, they are a great brand with high quality products which lived up to their claims. To all you petite girls like me, if you also struggle to find tights which aren't made for 6ft models then looks towards a longer crop or 7/8 tight first for your perfect fit.

Thanks for reading

Emma x

Peanut butter flapjacks and Fruit & Nut fudge

I had a couple of hours spare today so tried out some recipes for Clean treats, I love baking (and eating it) the usuals tend to be full of not so good for you ingredients, so here is a couple of alternatives...

Top Pic: PEANUT BUTTER FLAPJACKS

1.5 cup of oats

1/2 cup of nut butter (peanut/almond etc)

1/2 cup of almond milk (cows milk will also work)

1 cup of dried fruit and nuts/seeds

Optional (Recommended): 2 scoops of whey protein powder (vanilla, choc or banana)

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl then spread onto a small lined baking tray you want them about 1/2 inch thick, bake at 180c for 15 10-12 minutes and then put into the fridge for a few hours.

Bottom pic: FRUIT & NUT FUDGE

1 cup of nut butter (peanut/almond etc)

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup of almond milk (cows milk will also work)

1/2 cup of dried fruit and nuts

A few drops of vanilla essence

Optional (Recommended): 2 scoops of chocolate whey protein

Combine all of the ingredients into a bowl and then freeze for 3-4 hours

If you decide to have a go at making any let me know how you get on xx

Equipment for a home workout

Not everyone has access to a gym or has time to go, so having a few small pieces of equipment at home which can be stored away easily are great for creating yourself a home workout.

Here are a few that I would recommend,

Resistance bands-

These can be used in a variety of ways, I like to use these for squat jumps, side steps, glute kickbacks to name a few.

Resistance tubes-

These usually have handles and the great thing about these is that they can put around a fixed point in your home e.g stair banister so you can perform exercises such as rows, tricep extension, reverse flies. They can also be placed under your feet and this way you can perform bicep curls, shoulder press, lateral raises the list is endless.

Kettlebell-

This great piece of equipment is so versatile and it can give you a great workout and get your heart pumping, they come in a range of weights I would say go for a weight that you can perform a few exercises with, so you don't have a cupboard full of kettle bells.

You can get hold of all of these from either ebay or an online fitness store and they won't cost you the earth, use them alone or try and incorporate them into a HIIT workout to get some great results.

If you need any help with ideas for exercises, check out Youtube, Instagram or leave me a comment below.

xx

My 2015 goals

I hope everyone has had a good start to 2015 and I am sure there have been lots of new goals set.

I thought I would share some of mine....

The first is to complete my Level 3 Personal Training qualification, I have already completed level 2 which allows me to work in a gym environment but not yet one to one outside of a gym and I am itching to do so! Also by the end of the year I would like to set up a class in the local area where I live which is HIIT/Circuit based as I love this way of training, it is so interesting and varied.

Secondly, drink more water! I currently drink roughly 2 litres a day and would like to get another 1 in somewhere and finally.....

Make my blog a success, I love all things health and fitness and I will talk to anyone who will listen. So I will be using my blog to share my gym/home workouts, recipes and tips to help motivate and inspire others.

Please like and share

Emma xxx

Happy New Year- HIIT Home workout

Happy New Year, Why not start off 2015 with some fat burning?

Here is a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) routine which is great to do at home without equipment as not everyone is able to get to a gym or has time to. It is just 20 minutes of hard work, you do each exercise for 30 seconds (make sure you go all out for it) followed by 30 seconds of well earned rest.

30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest

Repeat 5 times

Burpes
(youtube this one)

Plank to press up position
(start in plank position with your forearms on the floor, then come up onto your hands into press up position making sure your body remains in line, then go back down onto forearms and repeat)

High knees
(Running on the spot getting your knees up as high as you can)

Squat Jump
(Lower into squat position and then push off the ground jumping upwards as high as you can)

I hope you can understand my explanations but if you are still unsure Youtube the exercises

xxx