My Weekly Shop...

Since my new years resolution is to sort out my nutrition fully, I decided I'd blog about my shopping list, as if you're like me, you have dreams of eating well but end up buying the same old things in the supermarket! I've grouped it together to make things easier and I'll talk you through it! Generally I spend about £50. However, I only cook for myself, so if I make a casserole, it can last me days as Im the only one eating it. I also am so awful at buying budget things, so if you're a student on a budget don't be put off by the price as you can probably do it for a lot cheaper! Its also probably useful to note I am not back at university yet, so most of what I've bought will be for meals I can make at home. I haven't worked out what I am going to make for my lunches away from home, so no doubt my weekly shops during university will be different! If anyone finds this interesting, maybe I'll do another one for those weeks.

So here it is, in its unpacked glory! My diet isn't perfect, I'd be a lot thinner if it was and these are of course the things I like so won't appeal to everyone.

 So lets start with the biggie. Protein. I am awful at this, I have been a vegetarian because I am genuinely not bothered about meat! However, with the amount of gym work and the body I want I have had to force myself to eat more of it! This week Ive bought chopped Steak for a casserole, Lamb meatballs and Salmon. This is just what Ive gone for this week, obviously there are loads of other meats and fish you can have such as Chicken, or better yet turkey! And I know a lot of people eat Mackerel but I'm yet to venture there! Its also handy to note I eat Tuna a lot too, but this is canned and already in my cupboard so I didn't need to buy it!
At the top of the picture you'll also see my happy eggs! Eggs is the easiest way to get Protein and good fats into your diet. I have two poached eggs most mornings, and if you try and tell me eggs are bad for you in those quantities, those chips and burger sauce you have on a friday night are going to kill you quicker!
Protein is whats going to keep you full and stop snacking, so eat as much as you can!

The next biggest thing is vegetables. You can eat as many vegetables as you like and not even have to count them as calories. You could literally fill yourself with these babies and still lose weight. I know it seems blindly obvious but its taken me this long to actually get round to doing it. It also it hilarious to me that I am a beauty lover at heart, and I'll pay out loads for a foundation to cover my skin, yet Im not doing the one thing at the core which will make me the most beautiful! So if having perfect skin and great body isn't enough of an excuse, they obviously have millions of non-shallow health benefits! So I now vow to not go a meal without having some Vegs (or fruit).
I've also included Avocado in here. I know these are notorious for fat, but its good fat and have a lot of health benefits. So as long as you stick to one, or even half a one every so often you're not going to balloon in weight! They're also so yummy that I couldn't care less ha!

In addition to Veg, is obviously Fruit. I have been loving fruit at the moment because I have a serious snacking problem and as long as I'm snacking on these Im okay! I generally have a banana on its own, or with porridge. I've bought the little ones as the big bananas are way to big to chop up and go in porridge and sometimes can feel like a meal by themselves! I also have grapes and raspberries. These are literally for those late night in front of the TV (or blog) snacking times. Kiwis are something I'm also trying to incorporate into my diet since they have loads more Vitamin C in than an orange. Blueberries are my new addiction. I have never liked them, but with yoghurt and honey (and sometimes oats or granola) I am now in love and its my go to pudding or naughty snack when Im craving sugar. They are full of antioxidants and so will hopefully sort out my skin!
Finally I have lemons in here, I don't plan to snack on these haha, I'll slice them and put them in a glass of water for a detox drink and I'll probably be using one with my salmon!

Now onto my most hated section, Carbs. Really, I try and have as little of these as possible because I wan't to be tiny! But with the amount of exercise I do, I need the energy. So I try at least to only eat good carbs, which are slow release. Oats are a must have, I use them for porridge or to sprinkle on fruit. You should get just normal oats and not the quick ones, as they are harder to digest. Sweet potatoes are a great thing to have around, you can make quick wedges, jackets or mash with them and is a much better alternative to the normal potato. Brown rice is also a slow release carb so its best to substitute white rice for this if you can as you'll feel fuller for longer. And I have a little cheat pot of Quinoa, I have the raw stuff too, but thats already in the cupboard! This has high levels of protein, despite it primarily being a carb and is great instead of rice or in salad. I also have Granola in this picture, and I know its the devil when it comes to Sugar, but I have to buy it for the house as my dad lives of it (despite my warnings) but I will admit I often have a handful with blueberries and honey and it sends me to heaven!

Dairy products. Again I have a love hate relationship with them. Dairy can cause intolerances in a lot of people, without the knowing, they just bloat you. I will only eat 0% fat dairy products, again this is totally up to you. I have substituted cows milk with almond milk, but thats because I am really strict with my diet and you may not want or need to go this far! But its great for someone with a diagnosed dairy intolerance too. I barely drink milk as I have green teas, but if I do need some for my porridge etc, I will use this. My greek yoghurt, again 0% fat is to go with my fruit, and also is great on slightly spicy meals such as Chilli! After being with an Iranian for 3 years, theres not a lot I won't eat yoghurt with! 

The Activia yoghurts I have bought here, I have to confess I never buy! As I try and limit my dairy. But I heard these are great for digestion and your tummy and so was going to try them out!

Here are my naughty bits! I have a chocolate addiction which I will never get away from, however dark chocolate is good for you, as long as you get a high cocoa content! And since I love dark chocolate I am weaning myself off my christmas selection boxes with a couple of squares of this in emergency! 

Honey is good for you, its just obviously carbs again so I class it as naughty! However I still have it everyday with my fruit so I can't really complain

So thats the end of my shop! I also bought some Evian Water, because I takes bottles to the gym and I try and recycle the same bottle as much as possible but I always end up losing it! I also drink Coconut water on the odd occasion as a change! And the only other thing I'll drink is green tea, in every flavour under the sun!!!

I started reading up on gut health, and its amazing how so many foods can create intolerances in your body that you may not know about, and a way of identifying this is to strip gluten,dairy, carbs, some meats, some fruits etc out of your diet and slowly reintroducing them to see how your body reacts to them and this is something I'm definitely going to consider in the future, but for know I just need to get a routine into my nutrition!

And here I am, back in bed after facing the world of Tesco. My mum once told me off for dressing up for Tesco as 'Life is not a fashion show', She couldn't be more wrong. I know most the staff that work there, and I even got a text during this blog from my ex-boyfriend to say I'd been spotted there!!! So its definitely time to sit back with a cup of tea and a graze box snack! I've got this middle aged stuff down to a tee.

xxx