This post features products kindly gifted by  BuyWholeFoodsOnline.co.uk - these are marked with an asterisk (*). 

There's always this tricky amount of time between finishing work around 5pm and starting my gym classes around 6ish where I need to fuel up for my gym class but also definitely dont have time to prepare or cook anything remotely substantial - that's where my beloved peanut butter energy balls come into it!

These lil guys are ridiculously easy and quick to throw together (and even more ridiculously easy to eat because they're so delicious). They're the perfect fix for some protein and energy before doing any exercise or just when you want a snack throughout the day. 

Ingredients (makes 12 balls):

• 85g creamy/smooth peanut butter
• 60g dark chocolate chips (or milk, whichever you prefer)
• 128g oats
• 60g chia or Organic Shelled Hemp seeds* (i've used 30g of each in this recipe)
• 2 tablespoons of Raw Wild Flower Bulgarian Honey* - I can't tell you how GOOD this smells.
• optional: handful of dried fruits (I was kindly sent some Dried Cranberries* but left them out this time round to keep the size of the balls smaller!)

How To Make Them:

• Place all the ingredients in a bowl (told you it was easy) and stir well to mix them together. 
• Place the mix in the fridge for 15-20 minutes so they're easier to roll. 
• Roll the mixture into 12 bites (or however you want to make depending on the size you want 'em) and store them in the fridge until you're ready to scoff them!

Benefits of Hemp Seeds:

I've added Organic Shelled Hemp Seeds* to this recipe because they're just so damn nutritious for you and these are a few reasons why:

• great source of protein
• high in fibre
• full of vitamins and minerals including magnesium (which will make our bodies very happy!)
• rich in fatty acids

About BuyWholeFoodsOnline

One of the things I love about BWFO (besides their HUGE selection of organic and whole foods obvs) is that at heart they are a family-run business start from really humble beginnings with founders and cousins Arthur and Joe setting up shop in their shed!

Having outgrown each warehouse and location they moved to due to the growing success of the business they finally settled in a whopping 25,000 square foot warehouse in Ramsgate in 2016 and that's where they've been ever since!

A Week In Photos

1. This is the last post I uploaded before this one, it's an overview of all the things I am loving and pinning on Pinterest right now.

2. Now, I know some people aren't into taking photos of what they're eating but I've never eaten hummous before and I had some on a picnic with a friend the other evening and oh my goodness I love it! So this was yesterday's lunch (also had this today too) and it was scrummy!

3. I saw this on Instagram and absolutely loved it so re-posted it to my feed, credit to whoever came up with this though, it's hilarious.

4. Sigh, this is me reminiscing on my Florida vacation last October. I'm going back again next year and it's like a second home to me now, I was thinking about doing a Florida-related blog post with all my tips and tricks so keep an eye out because that might be coming very soon.

5. Elle magazine was giving away some lovely-looking beauty products and with the issue only costing £4.00 I just had to buy it for the freebies.

6. I grabbed this recipe book at a charity shop last weekend because my mum and I have been doing so much home-cooking lately. We've discovered some really great healthy-eating recipes in mum's Slimming World magazine and online, so we wanted to write them all down and keep them in once place so they're easy to refer back to. If you'd like to see some of the awesome Slimming World/diet recipes we love then let me know!

7. This is a funny one, these are my lovely acrylic nails after getting them done last Saturday, six days later and I can't bear them and sat at home last night using Superdrug's Artificial Nail Remover to dissolve them. I love how they look but they're so impractical for me.

8. This is my lovely new car the first day I brought it home, the weather was gorgeous so I had to take a photo, you can read more about that here.

9. This is the mixture that creates my all-time favourite no sugar, no flour banana and greek yoghurt muffins. So, so good.

That's my week in photos, if you'd like to see more then follow me over on Instagram @laurenefell

Healthy Chicken and Vegetable Quesadillas

If there's one thing I struggle to go without even I'm eating healthily it's tortillas. I love fajitas, burritos and quesadillas so I was very excited when I threw together this healthy alternative and it came out tops! Here's the very simple recipe:
What you'll need:
1 x wholewheat tortilla wrap
Chicken
Vegetables of choice (I chose carrot and courgette because I had some left over)
50% Reduced Fat grated cheese
Fry-Lite cooking oil
Spicy/BBQ Seasoning

Method:
- Cook your chicken thoroughly in a frying pan and when cooked, add the vegetables and seasoning and mix well.
- Once all is cooked, place in a bowl and keep to the side while you prepare your tortillas.
- Coat another pan (or wash the last one well) with plenty of fry-lite before popping your tortilla in, while the bottom of the tortilla is toasting, add your chicken/veg mix to half of the tortilla (leaving the other half empty) and sprinkle some grated cheese on top.
- finally, flip the empty half of the tortilla over your mix and press down with a spatula. These get crispy really quick so keep an eye on both sides, flipping if you need to.

Slide onto a plate, slice into triangles and enjoy!

Are you going to try these quesadillas? Let me know below in the comments!

Chocolate Weetabix Muffins

The thing I miss most when trying to eat clean and healthy is always cake. I love nothing more than a slice of cake or a muffin with a cup of tea, that's my idea of heaven!

So you can only imagine how thrilled I was when I discovered this Weetabix chocolate muffin recipe! With no flour or butter it's a healthier alternative but still satisfies that craving for cake!

What you'll need (to make 5 muffins) :

2 Weetabix
1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp Sweetener
2 eggs
1/2 Muller Light Toffee yoghurt

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180c

Use a blender to blend the two Weetabix to a very fine powder.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the blender and blend until the mixture is very smooth.

Pour the mixture into 5 muffin cases/tray and bake for 25 mins

Place on a rack and leave to cool. Finally, top with Nutella and banana!

Peanut Butter Energy Bites - No Baking Required!

I love to snack, especially at work, and these peanut butter energy bites are perfect for on-the-go or even as a pre-gym bite to give you a little boost!

What you'll need:

115g creamy peanut butter
60ml honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g old-fashioned oats (raw)
Chocolate chips (as many or few as you like)

Method (10 mins):

Add your peanut butter and oats to a bowl, mix in the honey and vanilla extract, finally adding the choc chips at the end.

Either roll small amounts of the mix into balls like I did or you can spread it across a baking tray lined with baking paper to make energy bars.

Once prepared, place the balls or bars in the fridge and leave to set. I usually make these at night so they set overnight and are good to go in the morning!

 

 

3 Ingredient Pancakes - no flour!

It's Saturday morning which means I have more time to spend on my breakfast (as opposed to weekdays where I wolf down a bowl of porridge in record time) so I like to treat myself and that means pancakes!

I'm still trying to eat as healthily as I can before my summer vacation so these aren't your average pancakes. How, you ask? Well these consist of only three ingredients!

Egg, Bacon & Tomato Muffins

It's four weeks until I have to be bikini-ready for my vacation so I've really kicked my healthy lifestyle regime up a notch including pushing myself more at the gym and trying to eat clean!

These yummy egg, bacon, tomato and onion breakfast muffins are great for a quick breakfast or even lunch - just add a salad to bulk it out! Here's the recipe: