Avocado Weekend

Whilst travelling I did A LOT of eating and drinking. Although the fresh fruit out there was amazing, much of the food in South East Asia is fried and when you are constantly on the go and not able to cook for yourself you tend to just eat when you can and what ever is available at the time. 

I have never been 'fat' but I do tend to get bloated or 'Carb Belly' as I call it, and some areas could definitely do with toning up (I've been saying I want Ab's for over a year now) so now I am back I have re-joined boot camp and am absolutely loving it. I was pleasantly surprised to find out my metabolic age is only 12 years old, and visceral fat is the lowest it can be... I honestly thought I would be 'Skinny Fat' skinny with dangerous high levels of fat inside. 

I HATE gyms, I much prefer to exercise outside in the open and having someone direct you and apply some pressure definitely makes me perform better. Not only that, but at the bootcamp I attend they also offer lots of nutritional advice. I have always known what is good and what is bad for me and do eat quite healthy it's always great to have that extra support and to share ideas and bounce of each other and it's also a bit of healthy competition! 

As a general healthy eater, I am making small changes to make my diet better. One of my biggest cravings is for chocolate and something sweet, so when I saw a recipe for Avocado Cheesecake in Stylist magazine I had to give it a go. 

For the base toast some Pecans and Desiccated Coconut in the oven for around 10 minutes 

Juice around 8 limes to add to the Mashed Avocado mixture for the filling and a teaspoon of lime zest too. 

Once complete, I put in the freezer overnight to set. 

The Finished Product; A perfect zesty crunchy citrus healthy sweet treat. 

You can find the full recipe for this dish by clicking here.

So just like Kale, Avocado is having another moment as an 'it' super food, although I've always been a fan. 

A 'good fat' food, Avocado is also high in Potassium, Fiber and Vitamins K, C, B5, B6 and Vitamin E.

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, so at weekends when I have more time I often like to spend more time on it - this dish also including Avocados was delicious after my Saturday morning work out and I didn't feel hungry again till much later in the day. 

Baked Egg in Avocado with a fillet of Salmon. 

Simply crack the eggs into where the Avocado seed is, pop in the oven for around 10-15 minutes along with your fillet of salmon and add a sprinkle of Paprika on the eggy avocado to liven things up a bit.  

Adjusting To Normal Life At Home After Travelling

Six weeks home (par 10 days spent in Greece topping up the Tan). It's been a strange adjustment although not as hard as I thought it could be. Nothing is as exciting as before and I feel I am in limbo, not fully committing myself to anything and with hopes and thoughts of saving for the next trip. 

Here is a list of what I've found the most difficult to adapt to since returning;

. Everything is ridiculously expensive. £60 for Brunch? Are you fucking kidding me? I could feed myself 3 square meals a day for a week on that in Thailand. 

. You have to break the habit of putting toilet paper in the bin now you can actually flush again. 

. You've changed, or you're attitude and outlook towards life has but nothing else has 

. Cooking and cleaning for yourself again... What a drag. 

. Having to answer your parents when they ask where you're going or what time you'll be home. (Often met with a grunt response, as a free spirit I hate to be questioned on anything... Plus if only they knew what I was getting up to travelling half way around the world) 

. Sitting at work and constantly browsing through your Facebook photos and those of people you met who are still travelling. Jel. 

. Strangers on a night out will remain  strangers now, because to talk to people you don't know would be so un-cool (where I'm from anyway... #EssexCliques) 

. Your phone will often be buzzing through out the night at random hours where you're still in touch with those still travelling or who live on the other side of the world. 

. Hopelessly saving for your next trip whilst trying to pay off any debt you acquired from the last one AND not wanting to miss out on anything going on at home either. 

. The feeling of sand between your toes, the sun warming your skin and feeling like a mermaid swimming 

. As much as coming home to your own bed feels amazing it's also pretty lonely to not be sharing a room with people anymore 

. Coming home and catching up on all your series on Netflix then feeling emptier than before once you've finished them. 

. Seeing young children with gizmos & gadgets throwing tantrums and thinking you don't know how lucky you are after working in a Thai orphanage and seeing child poverty in Cambodia. 

But all in all it is lovely to be home, and it does make you appreciate what you have much more! 

The 10 Day Water Challenge

Five days into my 10 day water challenge and I feel fucking amazing. Yes it's boring staying in on a Friday night and yes I miss my tea but the perks are so worth it. 

I suffered from a headache on the first day due to caffeine withdrawals but I can see and feel the benefits already. 

My skin is plumper and clearer and my eyes are more sparkly!  

Plus I feel more alert and less bloated even though I've been eating my normal diet! 

I am missing my tea, coffee, red wine and prosecco but once the 10 days are up this is definitely something I will try stick to. 

(Do you know how much sugar is in fruit juice let alone fizzy drinks!!!?) 

Since I've been obsessing this week, here's my favourite H2o images; 

My Firsts

Whilst travelling I experienced and did lots of amazing things that I've not done before which I made notes of in my journal to remember. (However, not all of these can be mentioned... haha)

I now have a bucket list of things and places I want to do and see and will hopefully continue to to add to my list of firsts;

• First time being so up close and personal with Elephants, hands down this was one of the best things about the whole trip;

• Teaching English to children in a Thai School

• Jumping into the Sea at night to see the glow in the dark plankton 

• Staying in a Bamboo Hut on the Beach

• Staying on a Boat over night in Halong Bay, Vietnam

• Kayaking 

• Getting up to sing Karaoke in a room full of strangers

• First time in a Cable Car (Up to Big Buddah in Hong Kong & The Great Wall of China in Beijing)

• Uploading make-up free selfies and not caring

• Gone hiking and enjoyed it

• Going out with hairy legs and not caring
• Actually being able to use Chop Sticks
• Danced in the Sea whilst it was raining
• Gone to a restaurant alone
• Confidence to travel around alone in a foreign country and not feeling scared
• Feeling of true inner peace - not feeling mad, or sad or bad about things you can't change.